Stifel has been the clubhouse leader in the wealth management recruiting space for better than two years. And they aren’t using massive upfront payments and an outsized recruiting deal to do so. Advisors say that culture matters and the Stifel brand feels like ‘home’ and the friendly confines of wirehouses of years past.

“Brothers-in-law Gregory Schaller and John Zicari, who had separate practices at a Merrill office near Buffalo, formed a Stifel Nicolaus team in Fairport, NY, on Tuesday, with three client associates. They were jointly working with about $250 million of client assets ($210 million credited to Schaller), and produced about $1.6 million in the preceding 12 months, said Randy Powers, manager of Stifel’s upstate New York branches.”

“Gerald R. Mc Cue, Schaller’s former partner who has been with Merrill for 26 years, remains at the wirehouse’s Pittsford branch. He did not return a request for comment on the split.”

The constant flow of Merrill Lynch advisors finding themselves in Stifel offices and seats is astounding. And it probably, nay clearly, has to do with culture. Stifel offers both the breadth and depth of products and services that Merrill does and yet the ‘hot breath’ of BofA and banking culture is removed. 

We’ve heard it again and again, Stifel is ‘comfortable’. Obviously, the recruiting numbers back that up. Stifel keeps winning.