Stifel Nicolaus is a full-service brokerage firm that provides securities brokerage, investment banking, trading, investment advisory services, and related financial planning services to individuals, professional money managers, businesses, and municipalities.
It provides a variety of fixed-income investment products such as government, municipal, and corporate bonds; life, disability, and long-term care insurance policies; mutual funds, fixed, fixed-index, variable, and immediate annuities; and retirement accounts like traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) as well as Roth IRAs.
Clients have access to their accounts anytime through the website or mobile apps with the support of cash management account features that facilitate fund transfer between money market, brokerage, and checking accounts by debit cards.
Origins of Stifel
Founded in 1890, Stifel Nicolaus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp and a member of the New York Stock Exchange.
In 2009, Stifel Nicolas acquired 56 offices from UBS Financial Services, Inc. With its global headquarters located in St. Louis, Missouri, Stifel Nicolaus now has over 1,800 financial advisors located in 272 branch offices throughout the United States.
Can Stifel Be Held Responsible For My Financial Losses?
According to regulations set by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Stifel Nicolaus & Company is wholly responsible for overseeing each of their 1,800 representatives and investment advisers by providing systems of supervision.
These systems should be designed to prevent unethical or negligent actions by the firm’s brokers. If a Stifel Nicolaus broker causes significant losses for an investor because of violations, negligence, or recommendations counter to the investor’s interests,
Stifel Nicolaus and their subsidiary brokerage companies can be held legally liable to repay the damages caused by their broker.
Increasing Sloppiness and Fraud at Stifel Nicolaus
Within the last 10 years, Stifel Nicolaus & Company has been the subject of a large number of disciplinary or regulatory actions. Most of the 105 regulatory actions were the result of customer complaints about brokers, which alone is a red flag for potential investors.
The law firm of Meyer Wilson has handled cases against Stifel Nicolaus.
Below are some of the recent actions taken against Stifel Nicolaus and their representatives.
Inaccurate Reporting
As recently as June 2015, Stifel Nicolaus was fined for inaccurate trade reporting. Sloppy recordkeeping can at best be a result of incompetence and apathetic supervision and, at worst, a sign of dishonest trading.
This high level of regulatory activity in the last three years is deeply unusual and may speak to a larger problem within the century-old firm.
Lack of Due Diligence
In early 2014, the historic investment firm paid nearly half a million to clients who suffered losses because they were sold products that brokers at Stifel Nicolaus had not sufficiently researched. Brokers are legally required to only sell products and investments that they have thoroughly investigated.
When a professional broker-dealer and investment advisor provides advice about investments, a lack of investigation can cause a great deal of loss to investors, deteriorate trust between brokers and clients, and reveal a culture of dishonest research.
Selling Risky Penny Stocks
FINRA fined the firm $300,000 for selling high-risk penny stocks to clients, of which the Securities and Exchange Commission later suspended 27.
Stifel Nicolaus reportedly made over $300 million from the sales while exposing investors to incredible, preventable risk due to their lack of anti-laundering measures.
How Can a Lawyer Help If You’ve Been Exploited by a Broker
Here are some ways that an investment lawyer can help if you’ve lost money due to a broker:
- Analyze your account documentation and transactions to identify any improper, unauthorized, or fraudulent activity by the broker. Investment lawyers know what to look for in terms of red flags.
- Determine if the broker violated securities regulations or their common law duties to clients. This could include matters like unsuitable investments, failure to supervise, churning accounts, etc.
- Notify the brokerage firm about problems and file an arbitration claim if the issues are not resolved. Attorneys can handle the arbitration procedure and paperwork.
- Gather evidence like documents, emails, and testimony to prove your claims in an arbitration hearing against the broker. Investment fraud lawyers know what it takes to build a strong case.
- Negotiate a settlement with the brokerage firm if appropriate. Attorneys are skilled negotiators and know the true settlement value.
- Represent you if an arbitration or trial is necessary. Investment attorneys are experienced litigators in these specialized types of cases.
- Help you recover monetary damages to recoup your investment losses and other costs caused by improper broker conduct.
Helping Those Victimized By Investment Fraud
If you lost money as the result of the misconduct of Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, you may have a legal claim against the firm. Meyer Wilson investment lawyers fight for the victims of fraud and negligence by financial services companies.
Our firm recovered $350 million for our clients, and our work will continue with equal dedication and aggression. Let our attorneys guide you through these complex financial issues to help you hold large investment firms and brokerage operations responsible for their negligent actions with client money and client assets.
We practice nationwide in state and federal court, as well as in arbitration with FINRA and the American Arbitration Association.