Office address: 501 N Broadway #8, St. Louis, MO 63102
Website: www.stifel.com
Year established: 1890
Company type: investment banking firm
Employees: 9,000+
Expertise: asset management, financial services, investment banking, investment management, wealth management, capital markets, brokerage services, equity research, fixed income trading, mergers and acquisitions (M&As), private equity, retirement planning, trust services
Parent company: N/A
Key people: Ronald Kruszewski (CEO), James Marischen (CFO), David Sliney (COO), Victor Nesi and James Zemlyak (co-presidents), Mark Fisher (SVP)
Financing status: N/A
Stifel is an investment banking and wealth management firm that provides services to individuals, corporations, and various institutions globally through several subsidiaries. With $468 billion in assets under management as of March 2024, the company operates globally and has over 400 locations across the US. They have over 9,000 professionals, offering services like M&A advisory and capital raising through its subsidiaries, including their principal, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated.
Stifel was founded in 1890 by Henry Stifel in St. Louis, Missouri, as a small investment banking and brokerage firm. Over time, it earned a reputation for reliable investment advice, successfully navigating challenges like the Great Depression. In the 1980s, the company began acquiring regional firms and reaching locations outside the US, significantly expanding its services and geographic reach.
Stifel Financial Corp. was established as a holding company in 1983, overseeing its key subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company. During the 1990s and 2000s, the firm’s growth accelerated through acquisitions like Legg Mason’s capital markets division and UK-based Oriel Securities. Their 2013 acquisition of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods strengthened its financial services standing, and by 2024, the firm achieved a major milestone in client assets.
Stifel offers a wide range of financial services tailored to individuals, businesses, and institutions. Below are the key offerings:
Other offerings include insurance, private client services, retirement plan solutions. Stifel focuses on understanding client goals, striving to be the preferred advisor for clients, and the top choice for advisors and shareholders alike.
Stifel prides itself on an entrepreneurial culture, encouraging staff to use company resources freely to achieve client success. The firm values creativity and innovation, welcoming new ideas to adapt to changing market conditions. The company prioritizes employee well-being by providing a supportive work environment that fosters career growth, along with benefits such as:
Stifel’s 2023 Corporate Sustainability Report highlights its long-term commitment to ethical business practices and responsible corporate governance. The firm invests in its people, communities, and environmental sustainability, recognizing these efforts as both beneficial for business and essential for doing what’s right. They commit to doing community investments, employee development, and environmental stewardship, as demonstrated by its key sustainability initiatives and achievements:
The company emphasizes the importance of diversity and inclusion in meeting the needs of the communities it serves. The firm is committed to building an inclusive workplace where associates can thrive, ensuring all team members are valued and treated fairly. Key DEI initiatives include:
Stifel actively supports community development through its commitment to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), providing funding to underserved clients and promoting financial equity. In 2023, the firm underwrote nearly $3 billion in CRA-eligible bonds to aid low- and moderate-income communities. They partner with impact organizations, encourage volunteerism, and boost corporate giving through initiatives like its matching gift program.
Ronald Kruszewski serves as the organization’s CEO and chair and is also the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association board’s vice chair. Previously, he chaired the American Securities Association and served on the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis' Federal Advisory Council. He has a BA in accounting and finance from Indiana University Bloomington.
The key people at the company are instrumental in driving the firm's strategy and success. These include:
Stifel is strengthening its wealth management division by appointing industry veteran Jeff Markham as managing director. Markham has extensive experience in leadership and wealth management, which positions him to drive the growth strategy of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co Inc. This strategic hire reflects the company’s commitment to attracting top talent and enhancing its competitive edge in the wealth management sector.
They recently reported strong Q2 2024 results, surpassing forecasts with $1.2 billion in revenue, driven by growth in asset management and advisory services. The firm continues to develop its advisor base, adding 42 new advisors, including 13 seasoned professionals, showing signs of its well-established operations. Stifel's focus on maintaining a strong balance sheet and diversified revenue streams positions it for continued success.
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC this month began imposing quarterly fees of $35 on households with total accounts under $25,000, the latest development in big brokerage firms' long-simmering campaigns to wean financial advisers from small accounts.
Stifel Financial Corp. and Thomas Weisel Partners Group Inc. said last week that they have reached a definitive agreement to merge operations in an all-stock transaction valued at more than $300 million.
Declining share volume and strategies by fund managers to hold down the cost of buying and selling stock may lower Wall Street trading commissions in 2010, defying forecasts for an increase, Greenwich Associates said.
From March 31, 2009, through March 31 of this year, the number of advisers at regional broker-dealers jumped 2%, from 39,791 to 40,738.
The stock market appears to be headed for yet another strange day in May, with share prices plunging, then rallying. then falling again. Given the recent market gyrations, money managers disagree on whether it's time to abandon ship
Warren Buffett shortened the duration of bonds held by his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. after warning that deficit spending could force inflation higher.
If Congress votes to hold brokers to a fiduciary standard, some securities firms could face 4% to 10% declines in profitability per broker, according to a research note issued today by Ticonderoga Securities LLC.
Regional brokerage firms and some independent investment advisers have been making hay hiring hundreds of discontented wirehouse brokers.
Stifel Financial Corp., which has been expanding its Stifel Nicolaus & Co. retail- brokerage business aggressively, is about to make a push into serving registered investment advisers.
RBC Wealth Management continues to add financial advisers from competing brokerages and has now recruited a two-person team from Stifel Nicolaus, a subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp.
Financial services firm Stifel Nicolaus & Co. will complete the buyback of auction-rate securities from individual investors six months early under a settlement reached Monday with Missouri and other states.
Trouble in paradise? Apparently, as Maui Co. sues Merrill Lynch to get back its investments in auction rate securities.
After two disastrous years in a row, brokerage industry observers say something akin to normalcy may return this year.
For the first time in Villere & Co.'s 99-year history, advisers will not be required to wear suits to the office Friday. Instead, reps and other workers from the New Orleans firm will don Saints jerseys in support of their hometown team's Super Bowl appearance Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
