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!

33 Comments
 

If this is with their SF office, then please reconsider. That office is struggling a lot and has a not so great culture.

 

Op here, I understand they live in the lower middle market world. But are they a bad shop/not respected? I currently work at a large balance sheet bank without much culture in Corp banking.

I'm really just looking for a place where I can develop a technical skillset and be part of a good culture. Of course, I'm looking for exit ops, but I'm also considering b school and a career tangent, so I'm willing to sacrifice some prestige for lifestyle.

 

Admittedly I’m a little biased, but I was choosing between a couple of these banks just a month ago (most MMs recruit/resume drop at my school) but from what I’ve seen, people would take nycmm over chicago mm a majority of the time, and alumni in the past have took the stifel offer over many other banks you mentioned. Definitely not trying to argue or anything I’m not deep in the industry

 
Controversial

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

 

I know A2s/A3s that lateralled to JPM and Moelis after 1 - 2 years. I know A2s/A3s that exited to Series B Corp Dev roles and MM PE funds from Stifel. Group, location, networking and actual deal experience matter a lot and these individuals are all very talented and technically gifted. Worth noting most did not come from target schools and made the transition. 

 

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