Raymond James to acquire retirement administration firm NWPS

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF) announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire NWPS Holdings, Inc., doing business as NWPS and Northwest Plan Services, an independent provider of retirement plan administration, consulting, actuarial and administration services based in Seattle, Wash. The transaction is expected to close before Dec. 31, 2020.

The addition of NWPS allows Raymond James to expand its retirement services offerings, including retirement plan administration services, to advisors and clients. The timing is opportune as the industry prepares for new solutions created by this year’s SECURE Act, such as pooled retirement arrangements, and increases the investable market for employer and employee small business solutions.

“As one of the architects of modern financial planning more than 55 years ago, we are excited to add this important capability to our broad suite of advisor and client-centric retirement services,” said Scott Curtis, president of Raymond James’ Private Client Group. “We’re confident our advisors will benefit from NWPS’s excellence in this area, and that advisors considering Raymond James will find the capability compelling. Along with our industry leading technology solutions, focus on service and financial planning expertise, Raymond James continues to set a high bar.”

“Beyond being a good strategic fit with our long-term growth strategy, one of the key factors we weigh when considering whom to bring onto the Raymond James team is culture, and NWPS’s values profile is very similar to ours,” said Chairman and CEO Paul Reilly. “We are both people-oriented companies that place a high priority on excellent service. Adding this valuable retirement capability for our advisors and their clients while providing NWPS with Raymond James’ scale enables managing the end-to-end experience for plan sponsors and plan participants.”

The approximately 160 NWPS employees will be retained in the firm’s current locations. President and CEO Tim Wulfekuhle and his leadership team will continue to lead NWPS within the Raymond James organization. NWPS will operate as part of the Raymond James Private Client Group and enhance the existing retirement capabilities and solutions provided by the Institutional Fiduciary Solutions department.

“Finding the right partner for the continued growth of our business is gratifying and exciting for me and our team,” said Wulfekuhle. “Raymond James’ broad scale and capabilities, not to mention its outstanding reputation and focus on client service, provides our team and our clients the opportunity to build on success while staying true to our cultures.”

NWPS will continue to operate under its current name. The firm currently has over 400,000 participants with more than $35 billion in plan assets.

About Raymond James Financial, Inc.

Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF) is a leading diversified financial services company providing private client group, capital markets, asset management, banking and other services to individuals, corporations and municipalities. The company has approximately 8,200 financial advisors. Total client assets are $923 billion. Public since 1983, the firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RJF. Additional information is available at www.raymondjames.com.