No commissions, no ads, no advice. This Stifel profile draws only on public records, each linked so you can confirm it yourself.

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1. Check the SEC adviser record. Open the SEC's IAPD record for Stifel (CRD #793) and confirm its registration.

2. Read the filings. Review the Form ADV / Form CRS and any disclosure section linked from the IAPD page.

3. Confirm the entity. Match CRD #793 / Stifel, Nicolaus so you're reading the right firm.

The short answer: is Stifel a fiduciary?

Yes. Stifel is a fiduciary when it acts as your investment adviser. When it acts as your broker, a different standard applies. Publicly, it files with the SEC as Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (CRD #793). As of its latest Form ADV (filed September 15, 2026), the firm reported $197.5 billion in regulatory assets under management (a firm-reported figure). Its Form ADV (Item 5.E) lists how it is paid: a percentage of assets under management, fixed fees, and commissions. All of it sits on the public record, and confirming it for yourself takes only a few minutes.

Its Form ADV also reports that the firm itself is registered as a broker-dealer, and brokerage accounts fall under Regulation Best Interest instead. Ask which capacity covers each of your accounts. The firm must tell you.

What "fiduciary" means: a fiduciary is legally bound to place a client's interests above its own. (More on fiduciary duty)

Stifel at a glance

✅ Verified from public filings, last checked October 5, 2026. Stifel (SEC CRD #793) is a fiduciary when acting as your adviser, on a fee-based basis, with $197.5 billion in regulatory assets under management. Every figure below links to its primary source.

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Stifel fees: what you'll pay

The firm is fee-based. According to its Form ADV (Item 5.E), Stifel is paid a percentage of assets under management, fixed fees, and commissions. So cost can arrive from more than one place: an advisory fee, a commission on a product, and fund expense ratios underneath both. If you want an adviser paid only by clients, compare this with a fee-only financial advisor.

Our view: at a fee-based firm, the headline advisory rate is the least useful number. Ask Stifel for a written list of every fee and commission on each of your accounts, and which of those accounts is advisory and which is brokerage.

Who owns Stifel, and what conflicts does it disclose?

Stifel is owned by Stifel Financial Corp., as listed in Schedule A of its Form ADV. (Form ADV Schedule A)

Its Form ADV Part 2A describes the firm's conflicts of interest, including how it and its advisers are paid.

Stifel SEC record: disclosures

Stifel's Form ADV answers Yes to one or more disciplinary-history questions. A disclosure can be a regulatory, civil or criminal matter involving the firm or a related person. For a firm registered since 1975, the dates and details of each item usually tell you more than the fact that a Yes exists. Read each item in context on IAPD before drawing conclusions.

On the record, it has been registered with the SEC since May 7, 1975, makes notice filings in 52 jurisdictions, and reports 6,478 employees, 3,079 of them in investment advisory roles (about 48%). If you're asking "is Stifel legit?", start with registration: a public CRD and filings anyone can pull. That confirms it's a real, regulated adviser. Whether it's right for you is a separate question.

Reading Stifel reviews against the public record

Star ratings and client comments describe what working with a firm felt like. They rarely show that Stifel runs an advisory business and a broker-dealer under one CRD, with different standards for each. Before you weigh Stifel reviews, check three things this profile takes from the public record. First, how the firm is paid: it reports both advisory fees and commissions, which makes it fee-based. Second, who owns it and what conflicts it discloses. Third, whether its Form ADV reports any disciplinary history. Read reviews alongside the record, not instead of it.

How to verify Stifel yourself

Three steps confirm all of it:

1. SEC adviser record (IAPD): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/793.

2. Form ADV / CRS: linked from the IAPD page.

3. Confirm the entity: match Stifel (CRD #793, legal name Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated) so you're reading the right firm.

What Stifel does and who it serves

On its Form ADV, Stifel reports providing financial planning, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management (pooled vehicles), portfolio management for businesses and institutions, pension consulting, selection of other advisers, and educational seminars.

It reports providing financial planning to 11 to 25 clients in its last fiscal year (Form ADV Item 5.H), a count the form keeps separate from the client totals below.

Its Form ADV (Item 5.D) breaks its clients down by type, at least 236,192 in all:

The mix skews toward high-net-worth clients by assets. According to the Item 5.D table in its Form ADV (2026), high-net-worth individuals are about 31% of the clients counted above but hold $137.41 billion, about 70% of the $197.5 billion. Individuals make up about two-thirds of clients and hold $41.03 billion, roughly 21%. That averages near $1.9 million per high-net-worth client against about $261,000 per individual client. Asset-based fees are often tiered by balance, so ask where your household sits on the schedule in Part 2A. (Are you paying too much? Why that might be the wrong question)

It reports 394,160 client accounts, about 1.7 for each of the at least 236,192 clients counted above (many clients hold more than one account). Of those, 302,279 (about 77%) are discretionary, meaning the firm can trade without seeking your approval first, and 91,881 are non-discretionary (Item 5.F). Its main office is in St Louis, MO.

It reports that it or a related person has custody of certain client assets, which brings extra safeguards such as surprise examinations. The specifics are in its Form ADV.

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The hard part isn't checking the firm. It's seeing your whole financial life.

Confirming Stifel is registered takes a few minutes. Your Stifel advisor, though, typically sees only what is held at Stifel unless you share more. An old IRA, a spouse's portfolio and fees buried below a standard statement often sit outside that view. This is where Truthifi comes in.

How Truthifi can help

Truthifi links your accounts read-only and shows what you own, how it's allocated, how it's performing and where the risk sits, including single-stock exposure, returns next to a benchmark, a fee breakdown of the fees on each account, by type, and your Truthifi Score. You can share the accounts you choose with your advisor at Stifel.

If you already use an AI assistant that supports MCP sign-in, such as Claude, a paid Truthifi plan lets you connect it and ask about your Stifel advisory and brokerage accounts side by side. Truthifi Connect is the lighter membership for people who only want to use their own assistant. Questions about your fees need Monitoring or Monitoring Plus+.

Ask AI about your Stifel accounts

Once your accounts are connected read-only, you can ask in plain English:

• "What do I own across my Stifel accounts and everything else, and how is it allocated?"

• "What am I paying in fees across all of these accounts?"

Try it with Truthifi: start for free at app.truthifi.com and run a Monitoring Checkup (limits apply).

No commissions, no ads, no advice: Truthifi is not an investment adviser and doesn't give investment, tax or legal advice. Its access to your bank and brokerage accounts is read-only. Start free (limits apply). Monitoring Checkup is free. Link up to 10 connections, per Truthifi platform data on its published plan limits. Plans and limits are on the pricing page → truthifi.com.

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FAQ

Is Stifel a fiduciary? Yes, when acting as your adviser. Its Form ADV reports that it is also a broker-dealer, and brokerage accounts fall under Regulation Best Interest instead. Ask which capacity covers each of your accounts.

Is Stifel fee-only? No, it's fee-based. Its Form ADV (Item 5.E) reports commissions among its compensation, alongside advisory fees. The fee schedule and conflicts are in its Form ADV Part 2A.

Who owns Stifel? Stifel is owned by Stifel Financial Corp., as listed in Schedule A of its Form ADV.

Does Stifel have complaints or disclosures? Yes. Its Form ADV answers Yes to one or more disciplinary-history questions. Read each item on IAPD, in context. A disclosure is not by itself proof of current wrongdoing.

Is Stifel legit? The firm is registered with the SEC (CRD #793) and its filings are public on the SEC's IAPD site, which confirms it is a real, regulated firm. Registration doesn't tell you whether it's the right fit or what you'll pay, so read the fee and conflict sections of its Form ADV.

Can AI help me check whether I'm getting good value? Yes. Start free (limits apply): Monitoring Checkup is free and lets you link up to 10 connections. You can also connect an AI assistant you already use (such as Claude). On Monitoring or Monitoring Plus+ you can ask it, in plain English, about the fees on each of your accounts. Truthifi is not an investment adviser and doesn't give investment, tax or legal advice.

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About this profile

Truthifi built this profile from the firm's own SEC filings (Form ADV and, where filed, Form CRS). Every page is reviewed by the Truthifi Team before publishing. The Truthifi advisor fact packs are an ongoing series checking U.S. investment advisers against their public filings, one firm at a time.

Read next from the Truthifi blog

• What is a fiduciary?

• Fee-only financial advisor: costs and how to find one

• Are you paying too much? Why that might be the wrong question

• How to ask AI about your real investment accounts

• Robo-advisor vs. human financial advisor: which is better?

• All advisor fact packs on Truthifi

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A note on sources. The facts on this page come from publicly available documents, Stifel's SEC and FINRA filings, each linked inline so you can verify it yourself (SEC data current as of October 5, 2026). This is general information, not financial or legal advice, and Truthifi is not affiliated with Stifel. Regulatory records change, so always confirm against the official sources linked above. Spot something that should be corrected? Email us at support@truthifi.com.

One thing to keep in mind: every count on this page is a single snapshot. Stifel's next Form ADV update will restate them, and comparing the two filings will show whether its client mix and account counts are shifting.