Stifel Reputation
Hey WSO,
Does anyone have any insight regarding Stifel, namely culture, best groups and firm trajectory?
I have a lateral interview coming up, and info is fairly old across the site.
Appreciate the help!
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Stifel is on the lowest tier of MM banks.
Nowhere near a Jefferies, Blair, or Baird. Probably below a STRH / Truist or a Raymond James / Harris Williams type
Interviewed/talked to alumni there and from what I can tell they’re on the same tier as banks like BMO, Baird, etc. in terms of deal flow/exits/quality of work. Just below Jeff, Blair, HL but above SunTrust, RJ. Have a good enough name to lateral to BB, EBs in the future if you work hard enoug
You should offer a disclaimer that you’re a stifel 2020 intern.
Nobody else in the world considers stifel anywhere near blair or Baird or Jefferies in terms of rep and quality
The fact that you said Stifel is above Raymond James is just ridiculous. I have never seen a single Stifel person place into a reputable PE shop, whereas multiple at RJ have gone to a Mega-Fund (obviously not a regularity but still).
Stifel is at the lowest tier of any (somewhat) relevant bank. I would only place it above the no-name regional banks such as Cross-Key Capital in FL. It is a significant step below RJ / SunTrust / Truist / even KeyBanc and not even in the same league as a HL / Jeff / Blair / Baird. The students that have gone there from my mid-west semi-target state school have basically been the scraps that literally NO OTHER bank wanted any part of.
Even MillerBuckfire which was considered a top restructuring boutique went to shit after the acquisition and most of the top MD's and relevant analyst pipelines from top universities have left or faded.
With that being said, if you come from a completely non-target background and have a shitty GPA, and are willing to deal with a really shitty culture, hours, pitches, and no exit opps to PE, Stifel can provide you with the opportunity to lateral to a more relevant bank (BMO / Piper).
However, you most likely cannot lateral from a Stifel into a BB or to any relevant Boutique. You'd have to go Stifel --> BMO / Piper --> BB/EB
Stifel is good. But I will say, there is a REALLY weird student at my undergrad working FI at Stifel/KBW. So for that reason, avoid the entire firm.