The Canadian arm of US-based Raymond James Financial has announced that Paul Allison will join the firm on 4 August as co-president and co-chief executive officer. He will join the current president and CEO, Peter Bailey, in growing Raymond James' Equity Capital Markets and Private Client businesses in the country.

Mr Allison was most recently executive vice president and vice-chairman at Merrill Lynch Canada, as well as co-head of the firm's investment banking business from 2001.

Previously, he was head of Equity Capital Markets at BMO Nesbitt Burns where he worked from 1994 to 2001.

Through its network of approximately 4,850 financial advisors across North America and in key international centres, Raymond James has over 1.7 million individual clients with more than $216 billion in assets under administration.