SF News & Events

Ronald Kruszewski, chairman and CEO, said, "On February 2, 2026, we completed the sale of Stifel Independent Advisors, LLC. Excluding assets related to this transaction, total client assets and fee-based client assets increased 12% and 19% year-over-year, driven by equity market appreciation and strong advisor recruiting. Client money market and insured products rose 1% from January, while venture banking growth increased treasury deposits by more than $400 million. Despite recent market volatility, first-quarter 2026 investment banking activity remains well above prior-year levels, and we expect revenue to increase 30%-40% versus the first quarter of 2025."

Ronald J. Kruszewski, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "In January, total client assets and fee-based client assets reached record levels, increasing 10% and 16% year over year, respectively, driven by market appreciation and solid net inflows. Treasury deposits rose 70% from the prior year, reflecting strong venture and fund banking deposit activity. Client money market and insured product balances declined by less than 3% from year-end due to seasonal factors, as growth in Smart Rate balances was offset by lower Sweep balances. Total bank loans declined by less than 1% during the month, consistent with typical early-year seasonality."

Shares of wealth manager stocks sold off Tuesday after Altruist launched a new tax planning offering called Hazel, an AI platform. "The new capability helps advisors create fully personalized tax strategies for clients by reading and interpreting their 1040s, paystubs, account statements, meeting notes, emails, and custodial and CRM data, and applying deep tax logic to the analysis. All of this is done within minutes," Altruist, a wealth platform for independent advisors, said in a statement. Shares of Raymond James (RJF) closed down 9% to $158.48 while Charles Schwab (SCHW) dropped 7% to $99.25 and LPL Financial (LPLA) 8% to $360.58.