Founded in 1890, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel”) is a full-service, fee-based, independent broker-dealer and registered investment adviser (RIA) headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp., provides securities brokerage, investment banking, trading, investment advisory, and related financial services to individuals, businesses, and professional money managers.
In 2009, Stifel acquired 56 offices from UBS Financial Services, Inc. As of its latest Form ADV filed on February 15, 2023, Stifel had $148B in assets under management (AUM) and 316,625 accounts. Stifel’s brokers are licensed in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Financial Misconduct at Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated
Stifel is licensed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and as such is legally obligated to ensure its brokers are acting lawfully in the interest of their investors. If a client suffers losses as a result of negligent behavior or misconduct from a broker, then the firm may be held legally responsible to repay the damages.
Stifel and brokers backed by Stifel have a long history of misconduct. Per FINRA’s BrokerCheck report, the firm has 196 disclosures (137 regulatory events; 2 civil events; 55 arbitrations; and 2 bonds).
In June 2022, the NASDAQ stock market initiated a claim against Stifel finding that the firm failed to establish, document, and maintain a system of risk management controls and supervisory procedures reasonably designed to manage the financial risks of its market access business activity.
Some of Stifel’s risk management controls were not reasonably designed to prevent the entry of erroneous orders. Additionally, the firm failed to account for customers trading on multiple order management systems, which would potentially allow for them to exceed appropriate credit limits. And finally, Stifel failed to ensure that orders it entered into the market complied with all regulatory requirements on a pre-order basis. The firm was censured and fined $125,000 ($62,500 to NASDAQ for this matter and the remainder to the NYSE for a similar matter).
These matters come a little over a year after the Commonwealth of Massachusetts initiated a claim against Stifel in March 2021 for failing to properly supervise a registered representative who had a client overconcentrated in previous metals. The firm was fined $100,000 and ordered to reimburse one of the representative’s former clients in the amount of $133,907.84.
Wondering If You Have a Claim? Contact Our Firm Now!
Meyer Wilson has reclaimed $350 million for the victims of investment fraud or misconduct. Our attorneys are experienced in going up against the largest investment firms, such as Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, and our track record affirms our resources and expertise. Meyer Wilson has represented clients nationwide and internationally, in state and federal courts, and in securities arbitration through FINRA and the American Arbitration Association (AAA). As an investor, you have a right to recover investments lost through unethical behavior or decisions made against your interests.