Raymond James Adds Retirement Plan Option for Small Business Owners

Raymond James Adds Retirement Plan Option for Small Business Owners

Wed, September 16, 2026 at 7:30 PM GMT+3 3 min read

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Raymond James has made its small-business retirement plan available to its roughly 8,900 advisors, according to a regulatory filing and a spokesperson.

The St. Petersburg, Fla.-based wealth manager has launched a firm-wide SIMPLE IRA Employer Advisory and Consulting Services Program, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm has partnered with Capital Group American Funds for the program, which is designed for small businesses with up to 100 employees and combines an IRA with 401(k) plan features such as customizable investment menus and company matching.

"This program is available to Raymond James advisors' firm‑wide and reflects continued demand for high‑quality, scalable retirement solutions," a company spokesperson wrote in an email.

The SIACS program gives advisors a lever to offer in-house, non-discretionary retirement plan investing and advice services to small business owners who want to sponsor a SIMPLE IRA, a government-backed program that gives employers a cost-effective way to offer retirement plans.

The move to bring such a service in-house for advisors is becoming more common as wealth managers seek to offer clients holistic services and expand the potential client pool to include retirement savers. Last week, Edelman Financial Engines announced it was extending its retirement plan advisory and fiduciary capabilities to the small and mid-sized business market through a partnership with payroll and retirement services provider ADP.

Retirement plan offerings are expected to surge in the coming years due to a combination of state mandates and tax incentives, growing from about 830,000 in 2025 to over 1 million by 2030, according to Cerulli Associates. The majority of those are expected to be started by small businesses.

With SIACS, Raymond James will not have custody of the plan assets, trading authority or responsibility for plan administration or compliance, according to the filing.

The firm will provide an annual report on the plan's investments, participate in meetings with the employer regarding the plan, and help determine the qualified default investment option or others for participants.

In addition, the firm will offer "periodic investment education" for the plan sponsor's employees who participate in the plan. That will "exclude," however, "individualized investment advice" to those participants, which would fall under an individual financial advice service.

The fee for the service will vary with the size of the plan sponsor, according to the filing, with optional participant education or record keeper evaluations billed separately. Raymond James also notes that although its advisors won't receive commissions for recommending SIACS as a retirement plan option, there is a potential conflict of interest in the offering, which it will address through disclosure and adherence to fiduciary duty.

The firm is using Capital Group's American Funds SIMPLE IRA Plus for its program, which offers institutionally priced, 401(k)-style share classes, including American Funds mutual funds and the American Funds Target Date Retirement Series.

Employers using the plan have a choice of dollar-for-dollar savings contributions of up to 3% of compensation or non-elective contributions of 2% of gross pay, according to Capital Group's website detailing the IRA.