Advice

Take 10 with Jeff Maxwell

1. You started as a Raymond James analyst, with a brief stint elsewhere – only to return, what attracted you and brought you back to the platform?

Raymond James offered me the opportunity to practice a profession I thoroughly enjoy in an environment I wanted to be in for the long term. I already had a deep appreciation for the Raymond James culture from my days as an analyst and am very proud of the fact that, even with our significant growth during my time at the firm, the firm culture remains very much intact today. It also helped that I grew up in Tampa. I went to Buc’s games at Tampa Stadium (aka the “Big Sombrero”) long before it was Raymond James Stadium.

2. How do you define the Mergers & Acquisitions Group, and how does it interact with other industry groups in investment banking?

We wear a lot of different hats with one common objective – to enhance the Raymond James advisory platform at all levels of the organization and at any point of an advisory engagement lifecycle. We aim to do that by facilitating collaboration and sharing best practices and lessons learned across the platform to provide our bankers information and tools that facilitate the delivery of best-in-class capabilities to our clients.

3. How do you see M&A performing in the current economic climate?

Many view our current environment as one of slowing M&A activity. Certainly, that’s the picture the numbers paint when looked at over a narrow time frame. My view is that the M&A market is instead rebalancing from an anomalistic period. Multiple economic and market factors were acting in concert to drive deal activity over the last three years to historic levels. Once that trajectory reached a peak it’s only natural, and frankly healthy, for there to be a rebalancing. While some economic metrics have tapered, many continue to foster what I would call a healthy M&A environment and I don’t see those abating materially in the short term.

4. For junior bankers, how would you best describe the path to becoming a managing director?

Master the fundamentals at every level of your career arc and regularly exercise those skills irrespective of title. Just because you reach a new rung in the ladder doesn’t mean you can forget what got you there. I regularly lean on those fundamentals I learned and had engrained in me as a junior banker.

5. What has been the most impactful or surprising moment of your career?

I think everyone strives to find meaning in their career. At some point I realized that what I did professionally wasn’t necessarily earthshattering and rarely would be front page news. However, seeing first-hand business owners achieve success, large or small, and being there to help accomplish a corporate objective playing a role in a milestone transaction has given me a better perspective how I can make a transformational impact through my profession.

6. What has been your biggest career challenge and how did you navigate your way through it?

One major challenge I faced at the very beginning of my career was simply breaking into the investment banking world. I studied civil and environmental engineering at UVA. I had never taken an accounting or finance class. I didn’t have investment banking internship experience. My resume and transcript were atypical to say the least. What I did have was an analytical mind and a willingness to do whatever it took to excel in the job. So, I sold that as hard as I could and got a little lucky in the process.

7. In a sentence what do the next five year look like for Raymond James investment banking?

I generally agree with the investment view that “past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results” but I strongly believe that continuing to expand Raymond James’ advisory platform with first-class bankers possessing track records of exceptional service positions us well for the future.

8. What year in your career stood out in terms of U.S. M&A activity and why?

In the early days of lockdown during the COVID pandemic I, like most, was generally worried about everything. From a professional perspective, I was concerned with how our business could operate effectively in any environment of prolonged restrictions on travel and social interactions. An M&A world without face-to-face interactions, offices, conference rooms, airports– to me seemed unfathomable. Transactions simply wouldn’t happen if buyers couldn’t physically see what they were buying, couldn’t break bread with the people they were investing in, couldn’t seal the deal with a handshake and couldn’t welcome their new employees in person to the family. That wasn’t going to work. To see how quickly we adjusted and adapted to our new environment amazes me still. To think that, in that time, we achieved record levels of dealmaking is hard to process. We rewrote the operating manual for a profession virtually overnight and in the process, and very much unintentionally, established an even stronger foundation for the future of M&A for years to come.

9. What’s one piece of advice you’ve received in life that has stuck with you?

“If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.”

10. Lastly, tell us three non-career related fun facts about yourself!

• My wife and I are the proud parents of two wonderful boys (7 & 8) who keep us on our toes every day.
• My daily “to-do” list includes the NYT Crossword Puzzle and Wordle.
• My work and personal travels have taken me to every U.S. state except for one (you’re next New Mexico).