Raymond James & Associates

My account was neglected from April 22 until December 27th. During this time, I continuously charged fees even though the financial advisors were not investing my monthly contributions. I was then charged inflated processing fees when I tried to close my account. During the 31-month period from April 22 until December 27th, my Raymond James advisors did not make one active purchase of shares, even though I contributed to my account each month. Therefore, my money continued to accumulate in cash, while the Fund I was supposed to be invested in was earning 27% this year alone. Additionally this invested amount would have earned a 4.831 combined total dividend over that time (Jun. 21, 2017 to Dec. 17, 2019). I paid $120 in management fees during this time my account was left neglected. I tried to contact my investor on February 18th and October 14th. Unfortunately, I was only able to resolve the tax question I had I had in October, and did not hear back regarding the other questions I had concerning my account.I eventually employed the assistance of an attorney before Raymond James finally responded to my questions regarding the neglect of my account. Once they contacted me, Raymond James did not apologize or take ownership for the neglect. Once my advisor finally took action, they then decided to change the two funds I was invested in and charged an additional $23.80 in 'handling fees'. Ironically, this fund change came just after the dividend date, meaning not only did I miss out on the dividend, but the share price dropped as well. The neglect of my account through the series of missteps I mentioned above resulted in an approximate loss of just over $1,000 by my rough calculations. While this might not be a large sum of money compared to your other accounts, it is a lot to me, and the lack of fiduciary oversight is quite alarming. After this interaction, and also finding out Raymond James has a history of charging excessive fees which lead to a class action lawsuit ruling against them, I decided to move my to a brokerage that doesn't charge these excessive fees. I initiated this transfer in December . Raymond James delayed this process until after the new year, then charged me the 2020 management fee after only holding my money for two days in 2020. I have tried repeatedly to get this fee reimbursed by Raymond James, but again they are unapologetic about this fee and the way my account was handle. Intend to also follow-up with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the practices of Raymond James, how my account was handled, and how I was treated as a person. Product_Or_Service: Financial Advisement