Liberum, the staff-owned investment bank based in London and New York, has entered into a research distribution and trading agreement with Raymond James & Associates, the US- headquartered diversified financial services company, and an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member firm.
In a statement on 17 October, Liberum said its all-cap, pan-European equity research will be distributed to Raymond James' institutional clients in the US and several countries in Continental Europe, significantly enhancing Liberum's global distribution capabilities. Liberum will also become Raymond James' preferred execution counterparty for pan-European equities.
This follows on from the successful launch of Liberum's collaboration with CGS-CIMB in 2021, providing Asia-based institutional investors with Liberum's research, corporate access, and trading services. The agreements with both Raymond James and CGS-CIMB bring particular benefits to Liberum's corporate clients, opening up new geographies and access to new pools of capital through relationships with more than 2,000 investment firms globally.
Liberum's US team, led by Julian Plant, CEO of Liberum's North American operation, will work closely with Raymond James in the US to market Liberum's research, provide corporate access, and develop relationships with both new and existing clients. Liberum's US team has recently been expanded by the arrival of Tony Beckett in Equity Sales and Rachel Martin in US Corporate Access.
Bidhi Bhoma, chief executive, Liberum, said the agreement with Raymond James "will significantly strengthen our distribution capabilities across North America and Continental Europe. I am confident that the quality, depth and differentiation of our research product, along with expert execution, will bring value to Raymond James and its clients, and we look forward to exploring the opportunities that can be unlocked through this collaboration."
"We are delighted to partner with Liberum. The firm's broad, high quality research footprint and best-in-class sales and trading team make Liberum a natural fit for forging a strong relationship with Raymond James," said Raymond James global head of equities David De Luca.
Investment bank Liberum was founded in 2007 as a wholly staff-owned business and currently has
almost 180 staff across the UK and North America, as well as connections in Continental Europe.
New York-listed financial services group Raymond James Financial has approximately 8,600 financial advisers and total client assets of $1.16trn.
