STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP

Stifel Financial Corp. is a Delaware corporation and a financial holding company headquartered in St. Louis. We were organized in 1983. Our principal subsidiary is Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel”), a full-service retail and institutional wealth management and investment banking firm. Stifel is the successor to a partnership founded in 1890. Our other subsidiaries include Stifel Independent Advisors, LLC (“SIA”), an independent contractor broker-dealer firm; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. (“KBW”), a broker-dealer firm; Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (“SNEL”), our European subsidiary; Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc. (“SNC”), our Canadian subsidiary; Stifel Bank & Trust and Stifel Bank, retail and commercial banks, Stifel Trust Company, N.A. and Stifel Trust Company Delaware, N.A. (collectively, “Stifel Trust”), our trust companies (collectively “Stifel Bancorp”); and 1919 Investment Counsel, LLC, an asset management firm. Unless the context requires otherwise, the terms “the Company,” “our company,” “we,” and “our,” as used herein, refer to Stifel Financial Corp. and its subsidiaries.

We have a 133-year operating history and have built a diversified business serving private clients, institutional investors, and investment banking clients located across the country. Our principal activities are:

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Private client services, including securities transaction and financial planning services;

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Institutional equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, and municipal finance;

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Investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and private placements; and

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Retail and commercial banking, including personal and commercial lending programs.

Our core philosophy is based upon a tradition of trust, understanding, and studied advice. We attract and retain experienced professionals by fostering a culture of entrepreneurial, long-term thinking. We provide our private, institutional, and corporate clients quality, personalized service, with the theory that if we place clients’ needs first, both our clients and our company will prosper. Our unwavering client and associate focus have earned us a reputation as one of the nation’s leading wealth management and investment banking firms.

We have grown our business both organically and through opportunistic acquisitions. Over the past several years, we have grown substantially, primarily by completing and successfully integrating a number of acquisitions, including the following acquisitions, which were integrated during 2022 and 2023:

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ACXIT Capital Partners– On July 1, 2022, the Company acquired ACXIT Capital Partners, a leading independent corporate finance and financial advisory firm serving European middle-market clients and entrepreneurs.

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Torreya Partners LLC– On March 1, 2023, the Company acquired Torreya Partners LLC, a leading independent M&A and private capital advisory firm serving the global life sciences industry.

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Sierra Pacific Securities, LLC– On August 1, 2023, the Company acquired Sierra Pacific Securities, LLC, an algorithmic trading-focused, fixed income market-making firm.

Business Segments

We operate in the following segments: Global Wealth Management, Institutional Group, and Other. For a discussion of the financial results of our segments, see “Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Segment Analysis” of this Form 10-K.

Narrative Description of Business

Through our broker-dealer subsidiaries, we provide securities-related financial services to customers from the United States, Europe, and Canada. Our customers include individuals, corporations, municipalities, and institutions. We have customers throughout the United States, with a growing presence in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada. No single client accounts for a material percentage of any segment of our business. Our inventory, which we believe is of modest size and intended to turn over quickly, exists to facilitate order flow and support the investment strategies of our clients. The inventory of securities held to facilitate customer trades and our market-making activities is sensitive to market movements. Furthermore, our balance sheet is highly liquid, without material holdings of securities that are difficult to value or remarket. We believe that our broad platform, fee-based revenues, and strong distribution network position us well to take advantage of current trends within the financial services sector.

GLOBAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT

We provide securities transaction, brokerage, and investment services to our clients through the consolidated Stifel branch system. We have made significant investments in personnel and technology to grow the Private Client Group.

Consolidated Stifel Branch System

At December 31, 2023, the Private Client Group had a network of 2,278 financial advisors located in 398 branch offices in 48 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, we have 108 independent contractors.

Our financial advisors provide a broad range of investments and services to our clients, including financial planning services. We offer equity securities; taxable and tax-exempt fixed income securities, including municipal, corporate, and government agency securities; preferred stock; and unit investment trusts. We also offer a broad range of externally managed fee-based products. In addition, we offer insurance and annuity products and investment company shares through agreements with numerous third-party distributors. We encourage our financial advisors to pursue the products and services that best fit their clients’ needs and that they feel most comfortable recommending. Our private clients may choose from a traditional, commission-based structure or fee-based money management programs. In most cases, commissions are charged for sales of investment products to clients based on an established commission schedule. In certain cases, varying discounts may be given based on relevant client or trade factors determined by the financial advisor.

Our independent contractors, who operate in our SIA business, provide the same types of financial products and services to its private clients as does Stifel. Under their contractual arrangements, these independent contractors may also provide accounting services, real estate brokerage, insurance, or other business activities for their own account. Independent contractors are responsible for all of their direct costs and are paid a larger percentage of commissions to compensate them for their added expenses. SIA is an introducing broker-dealer and, as such, clears its transactions through Stifel.

Customer Financing

Client securities transactions are effected on either a cash or margin basis. When securities are purchased on a margin basis, the customer deposits less than the full cost of the security in their account. We make a loan to the customer for the balance of the purchase price. Such loans are collateralized by the purchased securities. The amounts of the loans are subject to the margin requirements of Regulation T of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) margin requirements, and our internal policies, which usually are more restrictive than Regulation T or FINRA requirements. In permitting customers to purchase securities on margin, we are subject to the risk of a market decline, which could reduce the value of our collateral below the amount of the customers’ indebtedness.

We offer securities-based lending through Stifel Bancorp, which allows clients to borrow money against the value of qualifying securities for any suitable purpose other than purchasing, trading, or carrying marketable securities or refinancing margin debt. The loan requirements are subject to Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Regulation U”) and our internal policies, which are typically more restrictive than Regulation U. We establish approved lines and advance rates against qualifying securities and monitor limits daily and, pursuant to such guidelines, require customers to deposit additional collateral or reduce debt positions, when necessary. Factors considered in the review of securities-based lending are the amount of the loan, the degree of concentrated or restricted positions, and the overall evaluation of the portfolio to ensure proper diversification, or, in the case of concentrated positions, appropriate liquidity of the underlying collateral or potential hedging strategies. Underlying collateral for securities-based loans is reviewed with respect to the liquidity of the proposed collateral positions, valuation of securities, historic trading range, volatility analysis, and an evaluation of industry concentrations.

Asset Management

Our asset management business offers specialized investment management solutions for institutions, private clients, and investment advisers. Revenues for this segment are primarily generated by the investment advisory fees related to asset management services provided for individual and institutional investment portfolios, along with mutual funds. Investment advisory fees are earned on assets held in managed or non-discretionary asset-based programs. These fees are computed based on balances either at the beginning of the quarter, the end of the quarter, or average daily assets. Fees from private client investment portfolios and institutional fees are typically based on asset values at the end of the prior period. Asset balances are impacted by both the performance of the market and sales and redemptions of client accounts/funds. Rising markets have historically had a positive impact on investment advisory revenues as existing accounts increase in value, and individuals and institutions may commit incremental funds in rising markets. No single client accounts for a material percentage of this segment’s total business.

Stifel Bancorp

We offer retail and commercial banking services to private and corporate clients, including personal loan programs, such as fixed and variable mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, personal loans, loans secured by CDs or savings, and securities-based loans, as well as commercial lending programs, such as small business loans, commercial real estate loans, lines of credit, credit cards, term loans, and inventory and receivables financing, in addition to other banking products. We believe Stifel Bancorp not only helps us serve our private clients more effectively by offering them a broader range of services, but also enables us to better utilize our private client cash balances held which are swept to our bank subsidiaries, which is their primary source of funding.

INSTITUTIONAL GROUP

The Institutional Group segment includes research, equity and fixed income institutional sales and trading, investment banking, public finance, and syndicate.

Research

Our research department publishes research across multiple industry groups and provides our clients with timely, insightful, and actionable research, aimed at improving investment performance.

Institutional Sales and Trading

Our equity sales and trading team distributes our proprietary equity research products and communicates our investment recommendations to our client base of institutional investors, executes equity trades, sells the securities of companies for which we act as an underwriter, and makes a market in securities. In our various sales and trading activities, we take a focused approach to serving our clients by maintaining inventory to facilitate order flow and support the investment strategies of our institutional fixed income clients, as opposed to seeking trading profits through proprietary trading.

The fixed income institutional sales and trading group is comprised of taxable and tax-exempt sales departments. Our institutional sales and trading group executes trades with diversification across municipal, corporate, government agency, and mortgage-backed securities.

Investment Banking

Our investment banking activities include the provision of financial advisory services principally with respect to mergers and acquisitions and the execution of public offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities. The investment banking group focuses on middle-market companies as well as on larger companies in targeted industries where we have particular expertise, which include real estate, financial services, healthcare, aerospace/defense and government services, telecommunications, transportation, energy, business services, consumer services, industrial, technology, and education.

Our syndicate department coordinates marketing, distribution, pricing, and stabilization of our managed equity and debt offerings. In addition, the department coordinates our underwriting participations and selling group opportunities managed by other investment banking firms.

Public Finance

Our public finance group acts as an underwriter and dealer in bonds issued by states, cities, and other political subdivisions and acts as manager or participant in offerings managed by other firms.

OTHER SEGMENT

The Other segment includes interest income from stock borrow activities, unallocated interest expense, interest income and gains and losses from investments held, amortization of stock-based awards for certain administrative associates, and all unallocated overhead costs associated with the execution of orders; processing of securities transactions; custody of client securities; receipt, identification, and delivery of funds and securities; compliance with regulatory and legal requirements; internal financial accounting and controls; and general administration and acquisition charges.

HUMAN CAPITAL

Our associates are vital to our success. As a human capital-intensive business, our ability to attract, develop, and retain exceptional associates is critical, not only in the current competitive labor market, but also to our long-term success. As of December 31, 2023, we had over 9,000 associates, including 2,386 financial advisors, located primarily in the United States, with a growing presence in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada.

We have become a premier middle-market investment bank and wealth management firm. Our long-term success as a company and our ability to generate sustainable value for our shareholders is only possible because of a corporate culture that puts the needs of our clients and our associates first. As a financial services company, we believe it is our responsibility to contribute to the sustainable economic development of the communities in which we live and operate. Our culture rewards collaboration, hard work, and empathy. And at the core of that culture is the Golden Rule of treating others as one would wish to be treated.

Culture

To provide the best possible service to our clients, we hire individuals who embrace our firm’s principles, think outside the box, and introduce ideas that challenge the status quo. To create a culture that fosters a sense of belonging and an identity of being the best at what we do, we reward our associates for performance, we engage them about their needs and interests, and, as a result, we develop the best leaders in the field. At work, at home, and in our communities, we want to be our associates’ Firm of Choice.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Across the firm, there is momentum to build on our efforts to foster, cultivate, and preserve a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We continue to build on past efforts so that Stifel is a place where the best talent wants to work and where people of all races, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, veteran status, or ethnicity can reach their full potential. We have taken this mission to heart, challenging ourselves to meet and beat industry averages in diversity and inclusion.

Our approach is not limited to broadening representation of those at the entry level of Stifel, but also carries over to all levels of our firm to create and sustain an environment of high retention. We continue to look at diversity holistically.

Recruitment and Talent Development

We believe our culture, our effort to maintain a meritocracy in terms of opportunity, and our continued evolution and growth contribute to our success in attracting and retaining strong talent. Our recruiting efforts are focused on identifying high achieving candidates from a variety of backgrounds. In addition to racial and gender diversity, we recognize the value that diverse experience can bring our business. Our high standards remain, allowing us to expand our search and maintain the skills and drive that make our associates so strong. As such, we have established new university partnerships, visiting campuses across the country to promote a variety of tailored summer programs and internships. To expand our reach and attract a diverse talent pool, we position our job postings on a wide variety of job boards, utilize social media, and participate in career fairs. In attracting the candidates that make up our company’s future, our entrepreneurial culture and focus on diversity and inclusion provide significant appeal.

Our associates are key to our success. Thus, we prioritize providing them with ample resources for learning and development as they progress in their careers. Mentoring opportunities along with our Senior Leaders and “Great on the Job” rising talent programs are integral to maturing leadership from within our own ranks. Supplementing these efforts are a host of learning resources available to all associates, aligned with best practices for fostering both team and individual growth.

Compensation and Benefits

To be the Firm of Choice for our associates, we are committed to providing both competitive compensation and a robust benefit package. Our competitive pay packages include base salary, incentive bonus, and equity compensation programs. Additionally, the firm makes annual contributions to support the retirement goals of each associate through a matching contribution program for the 401(k) retirement savings plan. As an additional retention tool, we may grant equity awards in connection with initial employment or under various retention programs for individuals who are responsible for contributing to our management, growth, and/or profitability. We view our associates as partners and believe that our company is most successful when our associates think and act like owners.

We have enhanced our comprehensive benefits package to represent the value we place on taking care of the talented individuals that we attract and aim to retain. The physical, emotional, and financial well-being of our associates is a high priority of the firm. To that end, programs include healthcare insurance, health and flexible savings accounts, paid time off, family leave, flexible work arrangements, tuition assistance, counseling services, access to quality child and elder care, enhanced fertility and family-building services, as well as on-site services at our corporate offices, which includes a health clinic and a fitness center.

BUSINESS CONTINUITY

We have developed a business continuity plan which is designed to permit continued operation of business-critical functions in the event of disruptions to our St. Louis, Missouri, headquarters facility as well as other critical functional areas of the firm. Several critical business functions are supported by outside vendors who maintain backup and recovery in line with our internal needs and capabilities.

We periodically participate in testing of these backup and recovery functions. Likewise, the business functions we support internally can be supported without the St. Louis headquarters through a combination of redundant computer facilities in other diverse data centers and from certain office locations which can connect to our third-party securities processing vendor through its primary or redundant facilities. Systems have been designed so that we can route critical processing activity and functions to alternate locations, which can be staffed with relocated personnel as appropriate.

GROWTH STRATEGY

We believe our strategy for growth will allow us to increase our revenues and to expand our role with clients as a valued partner. In executing our growth strategy, we take advantage of the consolidation among mid-tier firms, which we believe provides us opportunities in our global wealth and institutional group segments. We do not create specific growth or business plans for any particular type of acquisition, focus on specific firms, or geographic expansion, nor do we establish quantitative goals, such as intended numbers of new hires or new office openings; however, our corporate philosophy has always been to be in a position to take advantage of opportunities as they arise, while maintaining sufficient levels of capital. We intend to pursue the following strategies with discipline:

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Further expand our private client footprint in the U.S. We have expanded the number of our private client branches from 39 at December 31, 1997 to 398 at December 31, 2023, and our branch-based financial advisors from 262 to 2,278 over the same period. In addition, client assets have grown from $11.7 billion at December 31, 1997 to $444.3 billion at December 31, 2023. Through organic growth and acquisitions, we have built a strong footprint nationally. Over time, we plan to further expand our domestic private client footprint. We plan on achieving this through recruiting experienced financial advisors with established client relationships and continuing to selectively consider acquisition opportunities as they may arise.

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Grow our investment banking business. By leveraging our industry expertise, our product knowledge, our research platform, our experienced associates, our capital markets strength, our middle-market focus, and our private client network, we intend to grow our investment banking business. Opportunistic acquisitions over the past 15 years have accelerated the growth of our investment banking business through expanded industry, product, and geographic coverage, including capital-raising for start-up companies, particularly from the venture community. We believe our position as a middle-market-focused investment bank with broad-based and respected research will allow us to take advantage of opportunities in the middle market and continue to align our investment banking coverage with our research footprint.

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Further expand our institutional business both domestically and internationally. Our institutional equity business is built upon the premise that high-quality fundamental research is not a commodity. The growth of our business has been fueled by the effective partnership of our highly rated research and institutional sales and trading teams. We have identified opportunities to expand our research capabilities by taking advantage of market disruptions. Our goal is to further monetize our research platform by adding additional institutional sales and trading teams and by placing a greater emphasis on client management.

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Focus on asset generation within Stifel Bancorp by offering banking services to our clients. We believe the banking services provided through Stifel Bancorp strengthens our existing client relationships and helps us recruit financial advisors seeking to provide a full range of services to their private clients. We intend to continue focusing on the sale of banking products and services to our private and corporate clients.

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Approach acquisition opportunities with discipline. Over the course of our operating history, we have demonstrated our ability to identify, effect, and integrate attractive acquisition opportunities. We believe the current environment and market dislocation will continue to provide us with the ability to thoughtfully consider acquisitions on an opportunistic basis.

COMPETITION

We compete with other securities firms, some of which offer their customers a broader range of brokerage services, have substantially greater resources, and may have greater operating efficiencies. In addition, we face increasing competition from other financial institutions, such as commercial banks, online service providers, and other companies offering financial services.

Our ability to compete effectively is substantially dependent on our continuing ability to develop or attract, retain, and motivate qualified financial advisors, investment bankers, trading professionals, portfolio managers, and other revenue-producing or specialized personnel. Furthermore, the labor market continues to experience elevated levels of turnover in the aftermath of the pandemic and an extremely competitive labor market, including increased competition for talent across all areas of our business, as well as increased competition with non-traditional competitors, such as technology companies. Employers are increasingly offering guaranteed contracts, upfront payments, increased compensation, and increased opportunities to work with greater flexibility, including remote work, on a permanent basis.

As we enter our 134 th year in business, we continue to rely on the expertise acquired in our market area, our personnel, and our equity capital to operate in the competitive environment.

REGULATION

We continue to experience an unprecedented and dramatic increase in the pace of rulemaking affecting financial and public company regulation and supervision, as well as a high degree of scrutiny from various regulators. Recent events impacting the financial services industry, including the failure of certain banks during 2023, have resulted in and may continue to result in changes to regulations applicable to bank holding companies. Regulatory, supervisory, and investigatory activity has increased, and we expect it to continue to increase. Penalties and fines imposed by regulatory and other governmental authorities have also been substantial and growing in recent years. These changes in, as well as any further expansion of, business regulations could result in increased compliance costs. Further, any regulatory actions brought against us may result in judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, or other results, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows in the future; however, we cannot predict the exact changes or quantify their potential impacts. See “Item 1A - Risk Factors” of this Form 10-K for further discussion of the potential future impact on our operations.

The following summarizes the principal elements of the regulatory and supervisory framework applicable to our company as a participant in the financial services industry and, in particular, the banking and securities sectors. The framework includes extensive regulation under U.S. federal and state laws, as well as the applicable laws of the jurisdictions outside the U.S. in which our company does business. While the framework is intended to protect our clients, the integrity of the financial markets, our depositors, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Fund, it is not intended to protect our creditors or shareholders. These rules and regulations limit our ability to engage in certain activities, as well as our ability to fund our company from its regulated subsidiaries, which include Stifel Bancorp and our broker-dealer subsidiaries, and our trust subsidiaries. To the extent that the following information describes statutory and regulatory provisions, it is qualified in its entirety by reference to the particular statutory and regulatory provisions that are referenced. A change in applicable statutes or regulations or in regulatory or supervisory policy may have a material effect on our business.

We continue to experience a period of notable change in financial regulation and supervision. These changes could have a significant impact on how we conduct our business. Many regulatory or supervisory policies remain in a state of flux and may be subject to amendment in the near future. As a result, we cannot specifically quantify the impact that such regulatory or supervisory requirements will have on our business and operations. See “Item 1A – Risk Factors” of this Form 10-K for further discussion of the potential future impact on our operations.

Financial Holding Company Regulation

We are a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (“BHCA”), that has made an election to be a financial holding company. Consequently, our company and its business activities are subject to the supervision, examination, and regulation of the Federal Reserve Board (the “Fed”). The BHCA and other federal laws subject bank and financial holding companies to particular restrictions on the types of activities in which they may engage and to a range of supervisory requirements and activities, including regulatory enforcement actions for violations of laws and regulations. Supervision and regulation of bank holding companies, financial holding companies, and their subsidiaries are intended primarily for the protection of depositors and other clients of banking subsidiaries, the deposit insurance fund of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), and the banking system as a whole, but not for the protection of stockholders or other creditors.

Stifel Bank & Trust and Stifel Bank (collectively “bank subsidiaries”) are state-chartered banks regulated, supervised, and examined by the Fed and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). Stifel Trust, is regulated, supervised and examined by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”). The Fed and the FDIC also regulate and may examine our bank subsidiaries and, with respect to the Fed, Stifel Trust.

Collectively, the rules and regulations of the Fed, the OCC, the FDIC, and the CFPB result in extensive regulation and supervision covering all aspects of our banking and trust businesses, including, for example, lending practices, the receipt of deposits, capital structure, transactions with affiliates, conduct and qualifications of personnel, and as discussed further in the following sections, capital requirements. This regulatory, supervisory and oversight framework is subject to significant changes that can affect the operating costs and permissible businesses of our company, our bank subsidiaries, Stifel Trust, and all of our other subsidiaries. As a part of their supervisory functions, these regulatory bodies conduct extensive examinations of our operations and also have the power to bring enforcement actions for violations of law and, in the case of certain of these regulatory bodies, for unsafe or unsound practices.

Basel III and U.S. Capital Rules

Our company, as a bank and financial holding company, and our bank subsidiaries are subject to regulation, including capital requirements, by the Federal Reserve. Our bank subsidiaries are subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by the Fed and the Missouri Division of Finance. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on our company’s and our bank subsidiaries’ financial statements.

The OCC, the Fed, and the FDIC published final U.S. rules implementing the Basel III capital framework developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and certain Dodd-Frank Act and other capital provisions and updated the prompt corrective action framework to reflect the new regulatory capital minimums (the “U.S. Basel III Rules”). The U.S. Basel III Rules: (i) increased the quantity and quality of regulatory capital; (ii) established a capital conservation buffer; and (iii) made changes to the calculation of risk-weighted assets. The capital requirements could restrict our ability to grow during favorable market conditions and to return capital to shareholders, or require us to raise additional capital. As a result, our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could be adversely affected. See “Item 1A – Risk Factors” of this Form 10-K for more information.

Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can trigger discretionary, and in certain cases, mandatory actions by regulators that could have a direct material effect on the financial results of our bank subsidiaries. Under the capital adequacy guidelines, our bank subsidiaries must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of assets, liabilities, and certain off-balance sheet items as calculated under the rules. The capital amounts and classification for our bank subsidiaries are also subject to the qualitative judgments of U.S. regulators based on components of capital, risk-weightings of assets, off-balance sheet transactions, and other factors.

Under applicable capital rules, our company and its bank subsidiaries would need to obtain prior approval from the Fed if its repurchases or redemptions of equity securities over a twelve-month period would reduce its net worth by ten percent or more and an exemption were not available. Guidance from the Fed also provides that our company and its bank subsidiaries would need to inform the Fed in advance of repurchasing common stock in certain prescribed situations, such as if it were experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, financial weaknesses or considering expansion, either through acquisitions or other new activities, or if the repurchases would result in a net reduction in common equity over a quarter. Further, Fed guidance indicates that, pursuant to the Fed’s general supervisory and enforcement authority, Fed supervisory staff should prevent a bank holding company from repurchasing its common stock if such action would be inconsistent with the bank holding company’s prospective capital needs and safe and sound operation. See Note 19 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for further information.

Source of financial strength

The Fed requires that bank holding companies, such as our company, serve as a source of financial strength for any of its subsidiary depository institutions. The term “source of financial strength” is defined as the ability of a company to provide financial assistance to its insured depository institution subsidiaries in the event of financial distress at such subsidiaries. Under this requirement, we in the future could be required to provide financial assistance to our bank subsidiaries should they experience financial distress.

Deposit insurance

Our bank subsidiaries are subject to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act because they provide deposits covered by FDIC insurance, generally up to $250,000 per account ownership type. For banks with greater than $10 billion in assets, which includes Stifel Bancorp, the FDIC’s current assessment rate calculation relies on a scorecard method based on a number of factors, including the bank’s regulatory ratings, asset quality, and amount of brokered deposits. This scorecard method is designed to measure a bank’s financial performance and ability to withstand stress, in addition to measuring the FDIC’s exposure should the bank fail. From time to time, in response to specific events, the FDIC may also enact a special assessment to recover any losses to the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund as a result of protecting uninsured depositors, such as the special assessment enacted as a result of the recent bank failures which was finalized in November 2023.

Prompt corrective action

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”) requires the U.S. federal bank regulatory agencies to take “prompt corrective action” with respect to depository institutions that do not meet specified capital requirements. FDICIA establishes five capital categories for FDIC-insured banks, such as our bank subsidiaries: well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, and critically undercapitalized.

An institution may be downgraded to, or deemed to be in, a capital category that is lower than the category indicated by its capital ratios if the institution is determined to be in an unsafe or unsound condition or if it receives an unsatisfactory examination rating with respect to certain matters. FDICIA imposes progressively more restrictive constraints on operations, management, and capital distributions as the capital category of an institution declines. Failure to meet the capital requirements could also require a depository institution to raise capital. Ultimately, critically undercapitalized institutions are subject to the appointment of a receiver or conservator.

Although the prompt corrective action regulations do not apply to bank holding companies, such as our company, the Fed is authorized to take appropriate action at the bank holding company level, based upon the undercapitalized status of the bank holding company’s depository institution subsidiaries. In certain instances related to an undercapitalized depository institution subsidiary, the bank holding company would be required to guarantee the performance of the undercapitalized subsidiary’s capital restoration plan and might be liable for civil money damages for failure to fulfill its commitments on that guarantee. Furthermore, in the event of the bankruptcy of the bank holding company, this guarantee would take priority over the bank holding company’s general unsecured creditors.

The Volcker Rule

We are subject to the Volcker Rule, which generally prohibits bank holding companies and their subsidiaries and affiliates from engaging in proprietary trading, but permits underwriting, market making, and risk-mitigating hedging activities. The Volcker Rule also prohibits bank holding companies and their subsidiaries and affiliates from acquiring or retaining ownership interests in, sponsoring, or having certain relationships with “covered funds” (as defined in the rule), including hedge funds and private equity funds, subject to certain exceptions.

Broker-Dealer and Securities Regulation

The SEC is the federal agency charged with administration of the federal securities laws in the U.S. Our U.S. broker-dealer subsidiaries are subject to SEC regulations relating to their business operations, including sales and trading practices, securities offerings and other investment banking activity, publication of research reports, use and safekeeping of client funds and securities, capital structure, record-keeping, privacy requirements, and the conduct of directors, officers and employees. Financial services firms are also subject to regulation by state securities commissions in those states in which they conduct business.

Financial services firms are also subject to regulation by various foreign governments, securities exchanges, central banks and regulatory bodies, particularly in those countries where they have established offices. Outside of the U.S., we have additional offices primarily in Canada, the U.K., and Europe and are subject to regulations in those areas. Much of the regulation of broker-dealers in the U.S. and Canada, however, has been delegated to self-regulatory organizations (“SROs”), such as FINRA in the U.S., the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (“CIRO”) in Canada, and securities exchanges. These SROs adopt and amend rules for regulating the industry, subject to the approval of government agencies. These SROs also conduct periodic examinations of member broker-dealers.

The SEC, SROs and other securities regulators may conduct administrative proceedings that can result in censure, fine, suspension or expulsion of a broker-dealer, its officers, employees, or other associated persons. Such administrative proceedings, whether or not resulting in adverse findings, can require substantial expenditures and may adversely impact the reputation of a broker-dealer.

Our U.S. broker-dealer subsidiaries are subject to the Securities Investor Protection Act (“SIPA”) and are required by federal law to be members of the Securities Investors Protection Corporation (“SIPC”). The SIPC was established under SIPA, and oversees the liquidation of broker-dealers during liquidation or financial distress. The SIPC fund provides protection for cash and securities held in client accounts up to $500,000 per client, with a limitation of $250,000 on claims for cash balances.

U.S. broker-dealer capital

Our U.S. broker-dealer subsidiaries are subject to certain of the SEC’s financial stability rules, including the: (i) net capital rule; (ii) customer protection rule; (iii) record-keeping rules; and (iv) notification rules. Broker-dealers are required to maintain the minimum net capital deemed necessary to meet their continuing commitments to customers and others, and are required to keep their assets in relatively liquid form. These rules also limit the ability of broker-dealers to transfer capital to parent companies and other affiliates. See Note 19 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for further information pertaining to our broker-dealer regulatory minimum net capital requirements.

Money market reform

The SEC adopted amendments to the rules that govern money market mutual funds. The amendments make structural and operational reforms to address risks of excessive withdrawals over relatively short time frames by investors from money market funds, while preserving the benefits of the funds. We do not sponsor any money market funds. We utilize funds sponsored by third parties in limited circumstances for our own investment purposes as well as to offer our clients as one of several cash sweep alternatives.

Standard of care

SEC Regulation Best Interest requires that a broker-dealer and its associated persons act in a retail customer’s best interest and not place their own financial or other interests ahead of a retail customer’s interests when recommending securities transactions or investment strategies, including recommendations of types of accounts. Form CRS requires that broker-dealers and investment advisers provide retail investors with a brief summary document containing simple, easy-to-understand information about the nature of the relationship between the parties. Our implementation of these regulations resulted in the review and modification of certain of our policies and procedures and associated supervisory and compliance controls, as well as the implementation of additional client disclosures, which included us providing related education and training to financial advisors.

Various states have also proposed, or adopted, laws and regulations seeking to impose new standards of conduct on broker-dealers that may differ from the SEC’s regulations, which may lead to additional implementation costs. In 2022, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) promulgated a new exemption that enables investment advice fiduciaries to receive transaction-based compensation and engage in certain otherwise prohibited transactions, subject to compliance with the exemption’s requirements. In 2023, the DOL indicated that it plans to amend the definition of “fiduciary” in connection with investment advice regarding employee benefit plans and IRAs. Imposing a new fiduciary standard could result in increased costs and other impacts to our business.

Investment Management Regulation

Our investment advisory operations, including the mutual funds that we sponsor, are also subject to extensive regulation in the U.S. Our U.S. asset managers are registered as investment advisers with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 as amended, and are also required to make notice filings in certain states. Virtually all aspects of our asset management business are subject to various federal and state laws and regulations. These laws and regulations are primarily intended to benefit the asset management clients.

Other Non-U.S. Regulation

Our non-U.S. subsidiaries are subject to applicable laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which they operate.

SNC, a wholly owned subsidiary, is currently registered as an investment dealer in all provinces and territories in Canada. The financial services industry in Canada is subject to comprehensive regulation under both federal and provincial laws. Securities commissions have been established in all provinces and territorial jurisdictions, which are charged with the administration of securities laws. Investment dealers in Canada are subject to regulation by CIRO, an SRO under the oversight of the securities commissions that make up the Canadian Securities Administrators. CIRO is responsible for the enforcement of, and conformity with, securities legislation for their members and has been granted the powers to prescribe their own rules of conduct and financial requirements of members. CIRO also requires that SNC be a member of the Canadian Investors Protection Fund, whose primary role is investor protection. This fund provides protection for securities and cash held in client accounts up to 1 million Canadian dollars (“CAD”) per client, with additional coverage of CAD 1 million for certain types of accounts.

Certain of our subsidiaries are registered in, and operate from, the U.K., which has a highly developed and comprehensive regulatory regime. These subsidiaries are authorized and regulated by the U.K. conduct regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), and have permission to carry out business in certain European Union (“E.U.”) countries to the extent permitted under domestic law and regulation in those countries. The FCA operates on a statutory basis and creates rules which are largely principles-based. These regulated U.K. subsidiaries and their senior managers are registered with the FCA, and wealth managers and certain other staff are subject to certification requirements. Certain of these subsidiaries operate in the retail sector, providing investment and financial planning services to high-net-worth individuals, while others provide brokerage and investment banking services to institutional clients. Retail clients of our U.K. subsidiaries benefit from the Financial Ombudsman Service, which settles complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial services, as well as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which is the U.K.’s statutory deposit insurance and investors compensation scheme for customers of authorized financial services firms.

In Europe, the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation and a revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (collectively referred to as “MiFID II”) imposes certain restrictions as to the trading of shares and derivatives including market structure-related, reporting, investor protection-related and organizational requirements, requirements on pre- and post-trade transparency, requirements to use certain venues when trading financial instruments (which includes shares and certain derivative instruments), requirements affecting the way investment managers can obtain research, powers of regulators to impose position limits, and provisions on regulatory sanctions.

Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act of 2001

The U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (“PATRIOT Act”), the Customer Due Diligence Rule, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AMLA”), contains anti-money laundering and financial transparency laws and mandates the implementation of various regulations applicable to all financial institutions, including standards for verifying client identification at account opening, and obligations to monitor client transactions and report suspicious activities. Through these and other provisions, the BSA, the PATRIOT Act, and AMLA seek to promote the identification of parties that may be involved in terrorism, money laundering, or other suspicious activities. Anti-money laundering laws outside the U.S. contain some similar provisions.

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control administers economic and trade sanctions programs and enforces sanctions regulations with which all U.S. persons must comply. The E.U. as well as various countries have also adopted economic sanctions programs targeted at countries, entities, and individuals that are involved in terrorism, hostilities, embezzlement, or human rights violations.

In addition, various countries have adopted laws and regulations, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act, related to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. The scope of the types of payments or other benefits covered by these laws is very broad and is subject to significant uncertainties that may be clarified only in the context of further regulatory guidance or enforcement proceedings.

Our company and its affiliates have implemented and maintain internal policies, procedures, and controls to meet the compliance obligations imposed by such U.S. and non-U.S. laws and regulations concerning anti-money laundering, economic sanctions, and anti-bribery and corruption. Failure to continue to meet the requirements of these regulations could result in supervisory action, including fines.

Privacy and Data Protection

U.S. federal law establishes minimum federal standards for financial privacy by, among other provisions, requiring financial institutions to adopt and disclose privacy policies with respect to consumer information and setting forth certain limitations on disclosure to third parties of consumer information. U.S. state laws and regulations adopted under U.S. federal law impose obligations on our company and its subsidiaries for protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of client information, and require notice of data breaches to certain U.S. regulators and to clients. The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, mandates the development and implementation of a written identity theft prevention program that is designed to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft.

The California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) amended the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020 and became enforceable in 2023. CPRA regulations updated the existing privacy protections for the personal information of California residents, including by requiring companies to provide certain additional disclosures to California consumers, and provides for a number of specific additional data subject rights for California residents.

Similarly, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) imposes requirements for companies that collect or store personal data of E.U. residents, as well as residents of the U.K. GDPR’s legal requirements extend to all foreign companies that solicit and process personal data of E.U. and U.K. residents, imposing a strict data protection compliance regime that includes consumer rights actions that must be responded to by organizations. Canadian data privacy laws contain many provisions similar to U.S. financial privacy laws and are currently undergoing legislative reform at a federal and provincial level.

We have implemented policies, processes, and training with regard to communicating to our clients and business partners required information relating to financial privacy and data security. We continue to monitor regulatory developments on both a domestic and international level to assess requirements and potential impacts on our business operations.

The multitude of data privacy laws and regulations adds complexity and cost to managing compliance and data management capabilities and can result in potential litigation, regulatory fines, and reputational harm. Data privacy requirements affect business processes and compel companies to track personal information use and provide greater transparency on data practices to consumers. In addition, technology advances in the areas of artificial intelligence, mobile applications, and remote connectivity solutions have increased the collection and processing of personal information as well as the risks associated with unauthorized disclosure and access to personal information.

Alternative Reference Rate Transition

The FCA, which regulated the widely referenced benchmark London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), ceased publication of the most commonly used U.S. dollar (“USD”) LIBOR tenors (“USD LIBOR”) on June 30, 2023. On September 30, 2022, the Adjustable Interest (LIBOR) Rate Act (“LIBOR Act”) was enacted into U.S. federal law to provide a statutory framework to replace LIBOR with a benchmark rate based on the secured overnight financing rate (“SOFR”) in contracts that do not have fallback provisions or that have fallback provisions resulting in a replacement rate based on LIBOR. As of December 31, 2023, we no longer offer new contracts referencing LIBOR and legacy contracts indexed to USD LIBOR have transitioned to SOFR-based or other alternative reference rates in accordance with existing fallback provisions or the LIBOR Act.

Public Company Regulations

As a public company whose common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and the Chicago Stock Exchange (“CHX”), we are subject to corporate governance requirements established by the SEC, NYSE, and CHX, as well as federal and state law. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Act”), we are required to meet certain requirements regarding business dealings with members of the Board of Directors, the structure of our Audit and Compensation Committees, ethical standards for our senior financial officers, implementation of an internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting, and additional responsibilities regarding financial statements for our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer and their assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting. Compliance with all aspects of the Act, particularly the provisions related to management's assessment of internal controls, has imposed additional costs on our company, reflecting internal staff and management time, as well as additional audit fees since the Act went into effect.

Executive Officers

Information regarding our executive officers and their ages as of February 1, 2024, is as follows:

Ronald J. Kruszewski has been Chief Executive Officer and Director of our company and Stifel since September 1997 and Chairman of the Board of Directors of our company and Stifel since April 2001. Prior thereto, Mr. Kruszewski served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Baird Financial Corporation and Managing Director of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, a securities broker-dealer firm, from 1993 to September 1997.

Thomas W. Weisel has been Senior Managing Director of our company since August 2010, after the completion of the merger between our company and Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. Prior thereto, Mr. Weisel served as Chairman and CEO of Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc., a firm he founded, from 1998 to June 2010. Prior to founding Thomas Weisel Partners, Mr. Weisel was a founder, in 1971, of Robertson, Coleman, Siebel & Weisel that became Montgomery Securities in 1978, where he was Chairman and CEO until September 1998. Mr. Weisel served as a director on the NASDAQ Stock Market board of directors from 2002 to 2006.

James M. Zemlyak was named to the Office of the President in June 2014. Mr. Zemlyak served as Chief Financial Officer of our company from February 1999 to August 2018. Mr. Zemlyak served as Director of our company from February 1999 to June 2017. Mr. Zemlyak served as our company’s Treasurer from February 1999 to January 2012. Mr. Zemlyak has been Chief Operating Officer of Stifel since August 2002 and Executive Vice President of Stifel since December 1, 2005. Mr. Zemlyak also served as Chief Financial Officer of Stifel from February 1999 to October 2006. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Zemlyak served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Baird Financial Corporation from 1997 to 1999 and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated from 1994 to 1999.

Thomas B. Michaud has served as Senior Vice President of our company and Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., one of our broker-dealer subsidiaries, since February 15, 2013, the completion of the merger between our company and KBW, Inc. Mr. Michaud served as Director of our company from February 2013 to June 2017. Prior thereto, Mr. Michaud served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of KBW, Inc. since October 2011 and as Vice Chairman and director since its formation in August 2005. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer from August 2005 until October 2011.

Victor J. Nesi was named to the Office of the President in June 2014. Mr. Nesi has served as Director of Investment Banking and Director of our Institutional Group since July 2009. Mr. Nesi served as Director of our company from August 2009 to June 2017. Mr. Nesi has more than 30 years of banking and private equity experience, most recently with Merrill Lynch, where he headed the global private equity business for the telecommunications and media industry. From 2005 to 2007, he directed Merrill Lynch’s investment banking group for the Americas region. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in 1996, Mr. Nesi spent seven years as an investment banker at Salomon Brothers and Goldman Sachs.

Mark P. Fisher has served as Senior Vice President since July 2010 and General Counsel since May 2014. Mr. Fisher served as General Counsel of Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. from May 2005 until the merger between our company and Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. in July 2010. From January 1998 until May 2005, Mr. Fisher practiced corporate and securities law at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

James M. Marischen was appointed Chief Financial Officer of our company and Stifel in August 2018. Prior thereto, Mr. Marischen served as Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of our company from January 2014 to August 2018. During 2015, Mr. Marischen was named our Chief Accounting Officer. Mr. Marischen served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Stifel Bank & Trust from February 2008 to January 2014. Prior to joining our company in 2008, Mr. Marischen worked in public accounting at KPMG LLP.

David D. Sliney was appointed to Chief Operating Officer of our company in August 2018. Mr. Sliney has been a Senior Vice President of our company since May 2003. In 1997, Mr. Sliney began a Strategic Planning and Finance role with Stifel and has served as a Director of Stifel since May 2003. Mr. Sliney is also responsible for our company’s Operations and Technology departments. Mr. Sliney joined Stifel in 1992, and between 1992 and 1995, Mr. Sliney worked as a fixed income trader and later assumed responsibility for the firm’s Equity Syndicate Department.

Christopher K. Reichert has served as Chief Executive Officer of Stifel Bank & Trust since January 2008. Prior thereto, Mr. Reichert served as President of Stifel Bank & Trust from October 2007 to January 2008. Prior to joining the company in 2007, Mr. Reichert served as Executive Vice President of Pulaski Bank and was a member of the Pulaski Bank and Pulaski Financial Corp. Board of Directors.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

Our internet address is www.stifel.com. We make available, free of charge, through a link to the SEC web site, annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as well as proxy statements, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

Additionally, we make available on our web site under “Investor Relations – Corporate Governance,” and in print upon request of any shareholder, a number of our corporate governance documents. These include: Audit Committee charter, Compensation Committee charter, Risk Management/Corporate Governance Committee charter, Corporate Governance Guidelines, Complaint Reporting Process, and the Code of Ethics for Employees. Within the time period required by the SEC and the NYSE, we will post on our web site any modifications to any of the available documents. The information on our web site is not incorporated by reference into this report.