Who are Stifel Financial (Stifel Bank & Trust)'s competitors, and what are the alternatives?
Stifel Financial's 2025 10-K, filed February 24, 2026, says it competes with other securities firms, some with broader brokerage services and greater resources, and increasingly with commercial banks, online service providers and other financial companies. Its risk factors name national full-service broker-dealers, investment banking firms, commercial banks and investment managers as direct rivals, discount brokers and investment advisers as indirect ones, and fintechs as recent entrants. In wealth management, its largest business with more than 2,200 advisers in 402 offices, the rivals are larger: Raymond James reports $1.92 trillion of client assets and Morgan Stanley $7.35 trillion in wealth, against Stifel's $580.1 billion. Its own 2026 proxy peer group names Raymond James, LPL Financial and Ameriprise, and investment banks such as Jefferies, Piper Sandler, Evercore and Houlihan Lokey. The non-bank threat showed up in the share price: Stifel fell 6% on February 10, 2026 after Altruist launched an AI tax-planning tool for advisers, and Robinhood now lets customers connect their own AI agents to trade. Stifel Bank competes in venture banking with First Citizens' SVB and Western Alliance, and for client cash with Schwab, whose bank loans grew 33% to $67.0 billion.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Data as of Oct 19, 2026 · Stifel Bank profile updated Oct 19, 2026 · computed tables recalculate from the 140 bank profiles on this site · Markdown
What does Stifel Bank say about its 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." (Item 1, "Competition", 2025 Form 10-K, filed February 24, 2026.)[1]
"Furthermore, the labor market continues to experience elevated levels of competition for talent across all areas of our business, as well as increased competition with non-traditional competitors, such as technology companies. Employers are offering guaranteed contracts, upfront payments, and increased compensation in order to attract talent."[1]
From the risk factors of the same 10-K: "We compete directly with other national full-service broker-dealers, investment banking firms, commercial banks, and investment managers, and to a lesser extent, with discount brokers and dealers and investment advisers. We face competition from more recent entrants into the market, including fintechs, and increased use of alternative sales channels by other firms. Technology has lowered barriers to entry and made it possible for fintechs to compete with larger financial institutions in providing electronic, internet-based, and mobile phone-based financial solutions. This competition has grown significantly over recent years and is expected to intensify."[1]
"Competition from other financial services firms to attract clients or trading volume, through direct-to-investor online financial services, or higher deposit rates to attract client cash balances, could result in pricing pressure or otherwise adversely impact our business and cause our business to suffer. ... Furthermore, both financial institutions and their non-banking competitors face the risk that payments processing and other services could be significantly disrupted by technologies (e.g., AI, online trading platforms, digital payment technologies) that require no intermediation."[1]
Who competes with Stifel Bank in each of its businesses?
| Business line | Competitor | Type | Why it competes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wealth management and brokerage | Raymond James Financial | Broker or asset manager | A member of Stifel's 2026 proxy peer group and its closest advice-model rival; Raymond James reports $1.92 trillion of client assets and $1.86 trillion in its Private Client Group (June 30, 2026), against Stifel's $580.1 billion.[5][2][11][4] |
| Wealth management and brokerage | Morgan Stanley | Broker or asset manager | One of the national full-service broker-dealers Stifel's 10-K names as a direct competitor class, with $7.35 trillion of wealth client assets (2026), more than twelve times Stifel's total client assets.[1][3][4] |
| Wealth management and brokerage | UBS (US) | Broker or asset manager | A US wealth manager with 5,772 advisers in the Americas at year-end 2025 and about 700,000 US households, recruiting from the same pool as Stifel's 2,200+ advisers; Stifel's 10-K says firms compete for advisers with guaranteed contracts and upfront payments.[12][13][1] |
| Wealth management and brokerage | LPL Financial and Ameriprise Financial | Broker or asset manager | Both are in Stifel's 2026 proxy peer group of investment banking, brokerage and asset management companies of similar size; CNBC reported LPL closed 8% lower in the February 10, 2026 AI selloff that also hit Stifel and Raymond James.[5][14][6] |
| Wealth management and brokerage | Charles Schwab | Broker or asset manager | A discount broker of the kind Stifel's 10-K names as an indirect competitor; Schwab reported $120 billion of core net new assets in Q2 2026 and fell alongside Stifel in the February 2026 AI selloff.[1][10][6] |
| Wealth management and brokerage | Altruist | Fintech | Stifel shares fell 6% on February 10, 2026 in a financial-services selloff after Altruist launched an AI-powered tax-planning tool for advisers; Stifel's 10-K names fintechs as recent entrants that technology has helped compete with larger firms.[6][1] |
| Wealth management and brokerage | Robinhood | Fintech | A direct-to-investor online platform of the kind Stifel's 10-K says competes for clients and client cash; Robinhood had 28.4 million funded customers and $369 billion of platform assets at June 30, 2026.[1][7] |
| Investment banking and institutional | Jefferies, Piper Sandler, Evercore, Houlihan Lokey, Lazard and Moelis | Broker or asset manager | All six are in Stifel's 2026 proxy peer group, chosen from investment banking, brokerage and asset management companies of similar size by revenue, assets, income and market value; Stifel's 10-K names investment banking firms as direct competitors.[5][1] |
| Investment banking and institutional | Raymond James Financial | Broker or asset manager | Raymond James sits in Stifel's 2026 proxy peer group of investment banking, brokerage and asset management companies of similar size; Stifel's institutional group lifted its pre-tax margin to 19.5% in the first half of 2026 from 11%.[5][15] |
| Investment banking and institutional | Goldman Sachs | Bank | One of the investment banking firms with substantially greater resources of the kind Stifel's 10-K describes; all 46,000 Goldman employees have the GS AI Assistant (July 2025).[1][16] |
| Venture banking and fund banking (Stifel Bancorp) | First Citizens (SVB) | Bank | SVB, now part of First Citizens, reports $123 billion of client funds and $48 billion of loans (June 30, 2026) in the venture-backed market where Stifel Venture Banking lends, as in its $35 million facility for Sage.[8][17][1] |
| Venture banking and fund banking (Stifel Bancorp) | Western Alliance Bancorporation | Bank | Western Alliance's Innovation Banking group holds a $5 billion portfolio of 1,800+ clients, 97% sponsor-backed (May 2026); Stifel Bancorp offers venture banking to venture-backed and high-growth companies.[9][1] |
| Venture banking and fund banking (Stifel Bancorp) | Customers Bancorp | Bank | Customers' 2025 10-K lists fund finance and technology and venture capital banking among its national verticals; Stifel grew bank loans by $2.6 billion in Q2 2026, mostly through fund banking.[18][4] |
| Venture banking and fund banking (Stifel Bancorp) | Mercury | Fintech | Mercury says it banks one in three US startups among more than 300,000 customers (May 2026), the venture-backed companies Stifel Venture Banking serves with deposits, cash management and credit.[19][1] |
| Securities-based lending and client cash | Charles Schwab Bank | Bank | Schwab's bank loans grew 33% to $67.0 billion at June 30, 2026; Stifel Bancorp offers securities-based lending and mortgages to private clients, funded by swept client cash, and its 10-K warns that rivals may pay higher deposit rates to attract client cash.[10][1] |
| Securities-based lending and client cash | Raymond James Bank | Bank | Raymond James reported record net bank loans of $54.8 billion (March 31, 2026), more than twice Stifel's $24.8 billion; both banks lend to the clients of their advisers.[20][4] |
How do the AI and digital offerings of Stifel Bank's competitors compare?
Stifel Bank first, then each competitor. Use-case counts, index scores and latest moves are computed from our profiles of each company; "No profile" means this site has no page on it yet.
| Company | AI or digital offering | On the record (our profiles) | Latest dated AI move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stifel Financial (Stifel Bank & Trust) (this page) | Stifel's advisor-first AI stance and fund-banking-driven balance sheet[4][21][22][23][1] | Index 6.5 (#104); 13 use cases, 12 in production | CEO on CNBC: look at companies benefiting from AI, not just those building it (Oct 7, 2026)[24] |
| Raymond James Financial | Rai, a proprietary generative-AI operations agent: 6,500 users, 99.5% satisfaction (July 2026)[25] | Index 84.5 (#12); 16 use cases, 14 in production | Meta's Muse reignites the AI selloff (Sep 22, 2026)[26] |
| Morgan Stanley | AI @ Morgan Stanley Assistant used by 98% of advisor teams; Debrief meeting notes[27] | Index 69.7 (#34); 14 use cases, 9 in production | OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Financial Services, shaped with Morgan Stanley and Evercore (Sep 10, 2026)[28][29] |
| UBS (US) | Flagship AI platform used by nearly 90% of US financial-advisor teams (April 2026)[30] | Index 75.3 (#31); 14 use cases, 10 in production | Ermotti at the Bank of America conference (Sep 22, 2026)[31] |
| LPL Financial and Ameriprise Financial | Not disclosed | No profile | Not disclosed |
| Charles Schwab | Portfolio Insights generative-AI capability for retail clients (May 2026)[32] | Index 80.7 (#19); 19 use cases, 15 in production | How Charley was built: employee testing, confirmation before any change (Oct 8, 2026)[33] |
| Altruist | Not disclosed | No profile | Not disclosed |
| Robinhood | Cortex AI for Gold subscribers; agentic trading accounts for customers' own AI agents[34][7] | 8 use cases, 3 in production | Robinhood Agents, weekend trading and perpetual futures unveiled at HOOD Summit (Sep 29, 2026)[35][36] |
| Jefferies, Piper Sandler, Evercore, Houlihan Lokey, Lazard and Moelis | Not disclosed | No profile | Not disclosed |
| Goldman Sachs | GS AI Platform and GS AI Assistant[16] | Index 79.9 (#22); 13 use cases, 7 in production | Q3 2026 call: Solomon sets out AI guardrails and compute-supply risk (Oct 13, 2026)[37][38] |
| First Citizens (SVB) | An enterprise AI program being built, not bought[39][40][41] | Index 67.7 (#39); 14 use cases, 12 in production | First Citizens Innovation Banking launched; SVB name retired (Oct 6, 2026)[42] |
| Western Alliance Bancorporation | Triangle of Fraud Protection and the enterprise AI programme[43][44][45][46] | Index 71.8 (#32); 17 use cases, 16 in production | AI team first used to defend against Mythos (Sep 16, 2026)[47] |
| Customers Bancorp | OpenAI strategic collaboration, AI Innovation Lab and cubiX payments network[48][49][50][51] | Index 75.5 (#29); 16 use cases, 11 in production | Q2 2026 10-Q: no AI language (Aug 7, 2026)[52][53] |
| Mercury | Mercury Command (with Agent Cards and Mercury MCP)[54][55][56][57][58] | 6 use cases, 5 in production | Mercury Books: AI-driven accounting (Sep 16, 2026)[58] |
| Charles Schwab Bank | Charley, Portfolio Insights, Schwab Knowledge Assistant and Schwab Advisor AI in Action[59][32][60][61][62] | Index 80.7 (#19); 19 use cases, 15 in production | How Charley was built: employee testing, confirmation before any change (Oct 8, 2026)[33] |
| Raymond James Bank | Rai, AI Search and the advisor desktop[63][64][65] | Index 84.5 (#12); 16 use cases, 14 in production | Meta's Muse reignites the AI selloff (Sep 22, 2026)[26] |
Who should look beyond Stifel Bank, and where?
| If you are | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Investors who want an adviser firm that has named and measured its AI tools | Raymond James or Morgan Stanley | Stifel describes AI agents in adviser preparation but names no tool or usage figure. Raymond James reports 6,500 users of its Rai agent, and Morgan Stanley says 98% of advisor teams use its AI Assistant.[66][25][27] |
| Self-directed investors who want an app with an AI assistant and no adviser | Robinhood or Charles Schwab | Stifel's model is adviser-led through 402 branch offices. Robinhood offers Cortex to 4.8 million Gold subscribers and agentic trading accounts; Schwab rolled out Portfolio Insights to all self-directed US clients by the end of May 2026.[1][7][32] |
| Venture-backed startups that want the largest specialist bank | First Citizens (SVB) | Stifel Venture Banking lends to venture-backed companies, such as a $35 million facility for Sage in July 2026. SVB reports $123 billion of client funds and $48 billion of loans at June 30, 2026.[17][8] |
| Startups that want a software-first bank account | Mercury | Stifel Bancorp offers venture banking through relationship bankers. Mercury serves more than 300,000 customers, including one in three US startups, and offers virtual cards built for customers' own AI agents.[1][19][67] |
| Clients who want a global private bank | UBS or Morgan Stanley | Stifel's wealth business is US-focused, with advisers in 48 states and the District of Columbia. UBS serves about 700,000 US households within a Swiss group, and Morgan Stanley reports $9.3 trillion of total client assets.[1][13][68] |
Which firms does Stifel itself benchmark against?
Stifel's 2026 proxy lists a single compensation peer group of investment banking, brokerage and asset management companies of similar size. Firms with a page on this site are linked elsewhere on this page.
| Peer (2026 proxy) | Business | On this site |
|---|---|---|
| Raymond James Financial | Wealth management, capital markets, bank | Yes: AI index 84.5[5][2] |
| Northern Trust | Wealth management, asset servicing | Yes: AI index 79.7[5][69] |
| LPL Financial; Ameriprise Financial | Adviser platforms and wealth management | No[5] |
| Jefferies; Piper Sandler; Evercore; Houlihan Lokey; Lazard; Moelis & Company | Investment banking and advisory | No[5] |
| Affiliated Managers Group; Franklin Resources; Invesco; T. Rowe Price | Asset management | No[5] |
How big is Stifel's wealth business next to its rivals'?
Client assets and advisers as each firm reports them, with the date.
| Firm | Client assets | Advisers | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stifel | $580.1 billion; fee-based $239.8 billion | 2,200+ in 402 branch offices, plus 100+ independent contractors | June 30, 2026; December 31, 2025[4][1] |
| Raymond James | $1.92 trillion; Private Client Group $1.86 trillion | Not stated in the cited record | June 30, 2026[2][11] |
| Morgan Stanley | $7.35 trillion in wealth; $9.3 trillion total | Not stated in the cited record | 2026[3][68] |
| UBS (US) | About 700,000 US households | 5,772 in the Americas | December 31, 2025; March 2026[12][13] |
| Robinhood (fintech) | $369 billion platform assets; 28.4 million funded customers | None (self-directed) | June 30, 2026[7] |
Who are Stifel's biggest competitors?
In wealth management, Raymond James, Morgan Stanley, UBS, LPL Financial, Ameriprise and Schwab; in investment banking, firms such as Jefferies, Piper Sandler, Evercore and Houlihan Lokey, which sit in Stifel's own proxy peer group. Its 10-K adds commercial banks, online service providers and fintechs. Stifel Bank competes with SVB and Western Alliance in venture banking.[5][1][8][9]
Is Raymond James a competitor of Stifel?
Yes, the most direct one: both are adviser-led wealth and investment-banking firms with banks, and Raymond James is in Stifel's 2026 proxy peer group. Raymond James is larger, with $1.92 trillion of client assets against Stifel's $580.1 billion, and has put more AI on the record, including its Rai agent and a chief AI officer.[5][2][4][25][70]
Is Robinhood a competitor of Stifel?
For self-directed investors and client cash, yes by category: Stifel's 10-K names direct-to-investor online financial services and fintechs among competitive pressures. Robinhood had 28.4 million funded customers and $369 billion of platform assets at June 30, 2026, and lets customers connect their own AI agents. Neither names the other.[1][7]
Why did Stifel's stock fall on AI fears in 2026?
On February 10, 2026 Stifel fell 6%, Raymond James 8.8% and LPL 8% in a financial-services selloff after Altruist launched an AI-powered tax-planning tool for advisers, which investors read as a threat to advice fees. Stifel's CEO has since argued that AI is a tailwind to advice, not a headwind.[6][71][14][21]
Who competes with Stifel Bank in venture banking?
First Citizens' SVB, with $123 billion of client funds and $48 billion of loans at June 30, 2026; Western Alliance's Innovation Banking group, with a $5 billion portfolio of 1,800+ clients; and fintech Mercury, which says it banks one in three US startups. Stifel Venture Banking provided a $35 million facility to Sage in July 2026.[8][9][19][17]
What are alternatives to Stifel for securities-based lending?
Advice firms with larger banks: Raymond James reported record net bank loans of $54.8 billion (March 31, 2026) and Schwab $67.0 billion of bank loans, up 33% (June 30, 2026). Stifel Bancorp offers securities-based lending, mortgages and fund banking to private and corporate clients, with $24.8 billion of loans at June 30, 2026.[20][10][1][4]
Does Stifel compete with technology companies?
For talent, yes by its own account: its 10-K says it faces 'increased competition with non-traditional competitors, such as technology companies' for staff, and that technologies such as AI and online trading platforms could disintermediate financial services. Its CEO argues that rising adviser recruiting packages show AI is not replacing advisers.[1][72]
How does Stifel compare with Morgan Stanley in wealth management?
Morgan Stanley is far larger, with $7.35 trillion of wealth client assets against Stifel's $580.1 billion, and has disclosed more AI: an Assistant used by 98% of advisor teams and agent access to its stock-plan platforms. Stifel's distinction is adviser satisfaction: first in J.D. Power's 2026 employee-adviser study for a fourth straight year.[3][4][27][73]
- Stifel Financial Corp. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Raymond James Financial Reports Fiscal Third Quarter of 2026 Results
- Morgan Stanley will soon open its trillion-dollar wealth management funnel to AI agents
- Stifel Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
- Proxy Statement for the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (Schedule 14A)
- Schwab, Raymond James, Stifel drop as AI stirs concerns over advisory models
- Robinhood Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Silicon Valley Bank Fact Sheet 2Q26
- Western Alliance Bancorporation Investor Day 2026 presentation (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Schwab Reports Record Quarterly Revenue and Earnings
- Raymond James on track to top advisor recruiting record, CEO says
- UBS promotes from within to name new advisor head
- UBS fights for US wealth turnaround as it secures national bank license
- The AI threat wrecked software stocks. Now financial stocks look next with LPL closing 8% lower
- Stifel Financial Corp. Q2 2026 Earnings Call Summary
- Goldman Sachs staff now write a million gen AI prompts a month
- Sage Crosses $100 Million in 2026 Funding with $35 Million Debt Facility from Stifel Bank
- Customers Bancorp, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Mercury Raises $200 Million Series D at $5.2B Valuation
- Raymond James Financial Reports Fiscal Second Quarter of 2026 Results
- Stifel's earnings expose Wall Street's AI blind spot
- Artificial Intelligence: Runway for Growth (Outlook 2026)
- Stifel Financial Corp (SF) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenue and Strong ...
- Stifel CEO Ron Kruszewski: We should be looking at companies benefiting from AI, not just those building AI
- Raymond James Financial Q3 Earnings Call Highlights
- Meta's Muse reignites AI disruption fears. Traders are targeting this brokerage stock as next casualty
- Launch of AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief
- Introducing ChatGPT for Financial Services
- OpenAI courts Wall Street with ChatGPT for financial services, developed with Morgan Stanley
- UBS first-quarter 2026 earnings call prepared remarks and Q&A (Form 6-K)
- UBS at Bank of America financials conference: growth meets capital pressure (transcript)
- Charles Schwab Launches AI-Powered Capability That Helps Investors Understand Portfolio Performance and Market Activity
- Charles Schwab's Amy Ruegg: AI Can Make Investing Easier, but Human Expertise Remains Key
- Robinhood Reports First Quarter 2026 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Robinhood Puts the Power of Hedge Funds in Every Trader's Pocket
- Robinhood rolls out OpenAI and Anthropic trading agents to millions of users
- Earnings call transcript: Goldman Sachs tops Q3 2026 estimates as revenue rises
- Goldman's Solomon wants 'clear human accountability' on AI
- Frontier AI Fact Sheet
- First Citizens Bank Corporate Profile 1Q26
- A Q&A With Scott Richardson: AI at First Citizens Bank
- First Citizens Bank Launches New Innovation Banking Brand
- How Truist and Western Alliance deploy AI to fight fraud
- 2025 Digital Payments in Class Actions and Mass Torts
- Innovation of the Year 2025: Meet the honorees
- Western Alliance Bank Launches WA VenueX — Always-On Institutional Liquidity Hub and Financial Platform for the On-Chain Economy
- Western Alliance at Barclays Conference: shift to profits, buybacks (transcript)
- Customers Bank Announces Strategic Collaboration with OpenAI to Redefine the Commercial Banking Operating Model
- OpenAI will embed staff at Customers Bank under multiyear deal
- Customers Bancorp Q4 2025 Investor Presentation
- Customers Bancorp Reports Results for Second Quarter 2026
- Customers Bancorp, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026
- Customers Bancorp, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026
- Introducing Mercury Command
- Our security principles behind Command
- What is Mercury MCP?
- Mercury Launches Spend with Agent Cards and Intelligent Budgets for the AI Era (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance)
- Mercury Launches Intelligent Accounting with Mercury Books (Business Wire via Morningstar)
- Meet Charley, Schwab's New AI-Powered Assistant Designed to Help Clients Get Answers and Take Action
- AI on the other end of the line (but you're not talking to a computer)
- Schwab Study Reveals RIA AI Adoption More Than Doubles - But Most Firms Still in Early Stages
- Charles Schwab banking unit CEO to retire
- Raymond James launches proprietary digital AI agent to bolster operational excellence
- Raymond James Hires David Solganik as Head of AI Strategy
- Raymond James expands service-focused technology investment with Zoom AI Companion meeting summaries
- Shareholder Letter (2025 Annual Report)
- Silicon Valley startups are about to hand corporate credit cards to AI agents
- 2025 Annual Report (Form 10-K)
- Northern Trust Corp (NTRS) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
- Raymond James Financial appoints chief artificial intelligence officer to drive innovation and AI business solutions
- Wealth Manager Stocks Sink as Traders Flee Next AI Casualty
- With deal costs up, could AI make recruiting a bad bet?
- Stifel Tops JD Power Study for Fourth Straight Year
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