BALTIMORE, MD -- (Marketwire) -- 06/23/09 -- Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE: RJF) during the period between April 22, 2008 and April 14, 2009, inclusive (the "Class Period").

No class has yet been certified in the above action. Members of the Class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff. If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the Class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff no later than August 10, 2009 and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement and how much of a settlement to accept for the Class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in the Company during the Class Period. You may contact Brower Piven (through hoffman@browerpiven.com or 410/986-0036) to answer any questions you may have in that regard.

The complaint accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by virtue of the Company's failure to disclose during the Class Period that it understated the credit risks of its wholly-owned subsidiary's commercial and residential loan portfolios, and failed to set aside adequate reserves for the losses that the Company knew, or recklessly disregarded, were forthcoming. According to the complaint, on April 14, 2009, after the Company revealed that results for the second fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2009 would be well below the consensus analysts' estimates and that both its commercial and residential portfolios would require higher loss reserves, with the loan loss provision tripling from the previous quarter, the value of Raymond James's stock declined significantly.

If you have suffered a net loss for all transactions in Raymond James Financial, Inc. common stock during the Class Period, you may obtain additional information about this lawsuit and your ability to become a lead plaintiff by contacting Brower Piven at www.browerpiven.com, by email at hoffman@browerpiven.com, by calling 410-986-0036, or at Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, The World Trade Center-Baltimore, 401 East Pratt Street, Suite 2525, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. Attorneys at Brower Piven have combined experience litigating securities and class action cases of over 40 years. If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.