Paul M. Shoukry
RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIALAbout Paul M. Shoukry
Paul M. Shoukry is President of Raymond James Financial (RJF) and will become Chief Executive Officer effective February 20, 2025; he joined RJF in 2010 and has served as CFO (2020–2024), Treasurer (2018–2022), and SVP, Finance & IR (2017–2019). He was elected to RJF’s Board in 2024, is age 41, and currently serves on the Board’s Capital Planning Committee, which oversees capital and liquidity planning actions such as dividends and repurchases . RJF delivered record FY2024 results: net revenues $12.82B, net income available to common shareholders $2.06B, diluted EPS $9.70, ROE 18.9% and adjusted ROE 19.6%, under a client-first, long-term strategy that balances Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, and Bank segments .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond James Financial | President | 2024–present | Executive leadership and CEO succession; Capital & liquidity oversight via Capital Planning Committee |
| Raymond James Financial | Chief Financial Officer | 2020–2024 | Led financial controls, reporting, risk targets; supported bank segment performance and cash initiatives |
| Raymond James Financial | Treasurer | 2018–2022 | Corporate funding, capital markets access, liquidity optimization |
| Raymond James Financial | SVP, Finance & Investor Relations | 2017–2019 | Strategy evaluation, budgeting, investor communications |
| Raymond James Financial | Vice President | 2012–2017 | Finance roles supporting firm discipline and growth |
| Raymond James Financial | Assistant to the Chairman | 2010–2012 | Executive exposure and strategic projects |
| Baldwin Bell Green | Strategy Consultant | 2007–2010 | Strategy execution and advisory |
| BB&T | Commercial Banker | 2005–2007 | Credit and client coverage experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReliaQuest, LLC | Director | 2023–present | Cybersecurity firm directorship |
| American Heart Association – Tampa Bay Heart Ball | Chair | 2024 | Community leadership |
| Certified Public Accountant | CPA | 2014–2024 | Control/financial expertise credential |
Fixed Compensation
Multi-year summary compensation (SEC SCT presentation; includes equity at grant year):
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary ($) | $450,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 |
| Bonus – Cash ($) | $3,100,211 | $3,300,058 | $4,450,212 |
| Stock Awards (grant-date fair value, $) | $1,949,871 | $2,799,788 | $1,999,942 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $26,953 | $69,754 | $121,562 |
| Total ($) | $5,527,035 | $6,669,600 | $7,071,716 |
2024 “All Other Comp” components for Shoukry: ESOP $5,775; Profit Sharing $15,683; 401(k) match $1,000; Deferred Compensation plan contribution $33,000; Deferred Comp plan gain $41,503; Perquisites $24,601 .
Performance Compensation
2024 annual direct compensation breakdown (Committee’s “performance-year” view):
| Component | Amount ($) |
|---|---|
| Salary | $500,000 |
| Cash Bonus | $4,450,212 |
| Time-Vesting Stock Bonus Awards (RSUs) | $1,274,941 |
| Performance-Vesting Stock Bonus Awards (PRSUs) | $1,274,941 |
| Time-Vesting Management RSUs | $999,906 |
| Total | $8,500,000 |
RSU vesting schedules and metrics:
- Time-vesting RSUs: cliff vest on third anniversary (stock bonus RSUs); management RSUs vest 60% at third, 20% at fourth, 20% at fifth anniversary .
- Performance RSUs: vest based on three-year average Adjusted ROE and modified ±20% by rTSR percentile vs peer group; 2024 grant scale: 10% ROE = 50%, 15% = 100%, 20% = 150%; rTSR modifier: 25th percentile = 80%, 50th = 100%, 75th = 120% .
- Retirement eligibility accelerates vesting of unvested RSUs at retirement (delivery still per original schedule, subject to restrictive covenants); eligibility at age 55 with 10 years of service or age 65. Among NEOs, certain executives are retirement-eligible; Shoukry’s bio shows age 41 (not retirement-eligible) .
Example realized vesting (firm-wide) on 2021 PRSUs: three-year average Adjusted ROE = 18.7% → preliminary 150% of target; rTSR modifier 113% → final 169.5% of target .
RSU counts granted in FY2024 to Shoukry:
- Performance RSUs (12/15/2023 grant): Threshold 2,525; Target 6,313; Max 11,363 .
- Stock bonus RSUs (time-vesting, 12/15/2023): 6,313 units; grant-date fair value $699,985 .
- Management RSUs (12/15/2023): 5,411 units; grant-date fair value $599,972 .
Compensation process and metrics:
- Annual bonuses funded from a pool capped at 6% of consolidated pre-tax income, no individual bonus >3% of pre-tax income; Committee applies informed discretion without fixed weights, considering net revenues, pre-tax income, adjusted EPS, Adjusted ROE, growth, efficiency, and leadership .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
Beneficial ownership (as of 12/2/2024):
- Shares owned: 35,546; RSUs vesting within 60 days: 5,309; Total beneficially owned: 40,855; less than 1% of outstanding shares; no shares pledged .
Outstanding equity awards (as of 9/30/2024; market value at $122.46 per share):
| Grant Date | Unvested Time RSUs (#) | Market Value ($) | Unearned Performance RSUs (#) | Market Value ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/22/2019 | 1,500 | $183,690 | — | — |
| 12/12/2019 | 900 | $110,214 | — | — |
| 12/03/2020 | 3,000 | $367,380 | — | — |
| 12/02/2021 | 11,589 | $1,419,189 | — | — |
| 12/15/2021 | 4,409 | $539,926 | 7,934 | $971,598 |
| 12/15/2022 | 14,507 | $1,776,527 | — | — |
| 12/15/2022 | 5,441 | $666,305 | 9,792 | $1,199,128 |
| 12/15/2023 | 5,411 | $662,631 | — | — |
| 12/15/2023 | 6,313 | $773,090 | 11,363 | $1,391,513 |
Stock vested in FY2024 (value at vest date close):
| Name | Shares Acquired on Vesting | Value Realized ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Paul M. Shoukry | 12,310 | $1,314,719 |
Ownership policies and trading limits:
- Executive officers must hold 3x annual salary; CEO 7x salary; must retain 100% of net shares until achieving guideline; directors/executives prohibited from short sales, options, hedging, and pledging .
Employment Terms
- Employment agreements: None. Executive officers (including CEO/NEOs) are at-will and have no special severance arrangements; no tax gross-ups except limited relocation per policy .
- Change-in-control/accelerated vesting: RSU award agreements generally require “double trigger” (a change in control plus termination) for accelerated vesting .
- Potential payments upon termination or change in control (as of 9/30/2023; assumes RJF stock at $100.43):
- For Shoukry: Share awards value on termination by executive for good reason or involuntary termination by company without cause: $2,340,622; on death or disability: $6,287,119; on qualified termination following a change in control: $6,287,119; no cash severance, salary continuation, or welfare benefits in these scenarios .
- Clawbacks: Robust compensation recoupment policy covering restatements, inaccurate performance metrics, and serious misconduct/materially imprudent judgment causing material financial or reputational harm; separate NYSE-compliant Dodd-Frank clawback policy .
- Deferred compensation: VDCP allows deferral up to 75% of base salary, bonuses, and commissions for highly compensated employees (≥$300k), with company contributions discretionary; balances are unsecured liabilities of RJF .
Board Governance
- Board service history: Director since 2024; serves on Capital Planning Committee (CPC) alongside non-executive directors and executives; CPC met 4 times in FY2024 .
- Committee roles: CPC member; CPC oversees capital/liquidity metrics, stress tests, dividends, repurchase authorizations, and debt/equity issuances .
- Independence: Board determined 10 of 12 nominees are independent; Shoukry (employee-director) is not independent. All committees other than CPC are composed exclusively of independent directors .
- Attendance: All director nominees attended 100% of Board and committee meetings in FY2024; Board held 4 meetings .
- Board leadership/dual-role implications: During CEO transition, roles are separated—Executive Chair (Paul Reilly) and CEO (Shoukry) post-Annual Meeting. Lead Independent Director (Jeffrey Edwards) provides independent counterbalance, presides over executive sessions, leads evaluations, and assists with CEO succession .
- Director compensation: Employee directors (Reilly, Shoukry) receive no additional pay for board service; non-executive directors receive cash retainers and annual RSU/DSU grants, with chair fees by committee .
Compensation Structure Analysis
- Mix of pay: Heavy emphasis on variable pay and equity; for Shoukry in 2024, variable compensation components (cash bonus + RSUs) dominate total .
- Equity design: Shifted to RSUs; RJF states it has not granted options to executive officers as part of annual compensation since FY2014; option repricing prohibited absent shareholder approval .
- Performance linkage: PRSUs tied to Adjusted ROE with rTSR modifier; Committee uses discretion without fixed weights to reflect macro conditions and risk appetite .
- Risk controls: Deferred equity, long vesting, clawbacks, ownership requirements, and trading prohibitions mitigate excessive risk-taking; Board concluded incentive plans are not likely to motivate behavior causing material adverse impact .
Equity Ownership & Alignment Details
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership | 35,546 shares + 5,309 RSUs vesting within 60 days; total 40,855; <1% of outstanding; no pledging |
| Ownership guidelines | Executives 3x salary; CEO 7x salary; retain 100% net shares until met |
| Compliance | All NEOs have reached or exceeded ownership requirements (firm disclosure) |
| Hedging/shorting | Prohibited for directors and executives |
Employment & Contracts
| Term | Provision |
|---|---|
| Status | At-will employment; no special severance contracts for executive officers |
| Change-in-control | Accelerated vesting generally requires double trigger (CIC + termination) |
| Restrictive covenants | Post-retirement delivery of vested RSU shares contingent on compliance with award agreement covenants |
| Non-compete/solicit | Not specifically disclosed beyond award restrictive covenants |
| Garden leave/post-termination consulting | Not disclosed |
Say-on-Pay & Peer Group
- Say-on-Pay support: 83% approval in 2024; Committee maintained practices based on shareholder feedback .
- Compensation peer group used for market data awareness (not fixed benchmarking or percentile targeting): Ameriprise, BNY Mellon, Charles Schwab, Franklin Resources, Invesco, Jefferies, LPL Financial, Northern Trust, State Street, Stifel Financial, T. Rowe Price .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Strong pay-for-performance design with PRSUs linked to Adjusted ROE and rTSR, long vesting, robust clawbacks, and strict ownership/trading policies reduce misalignment risk and insider selling pressure; no pledging and mandatory net share retention until guidelines met are shareholder-friendly .
- Retention/transition: At-will employment without severance guarantees and double-trigger equity acceleration limits golden parachute concerns; the CEO transition plan and independent Board leadership mitigate dual-role risks and governance independence concerns .
- Supply from vesting: Shoukry had 12,310 shares vest in FY2024 ($1.31M realized). Upcoming vesting is spread across multiple awards (time RSUs 3-year cliffs; management RSUs 60/20/20; PRSUs contingent), suggesting staggered potential supply; retention guidelines require holding net shares until compliance .
- Performance execution risk: RJF’s record FY2024 results and ROE prints support high PRSU payout potential; however, rTSR modifiers incorporate market-relative outcomes, tempering awards in weaker cycles .