Banks
Stifel posts record wealth management revenue as client cash shifts from sweep deposits to money funds
Stifel's third-quarter adjusted EPS rose to $1.46 on record wealth revenue, while its institutional business slipped 14% and sweep balances kept shrinking.
HedgeWeekly News Desk ·
Stifel Financial reported third-quarter net revenue of $1.43 billion on Wednesday, flat on a year earlier, as growth in wealth management offset a weaker institutional business. Non-GAAP diluted earnings rose to $1.46 a share from $1.30, which the firm said was its best third quarter on record. GAAP diluted EPS was $1.40, up from $1.22.
The Global Wealth Management unit produced record net revenue of $980.3 million, up about 8%, and pre-tax income of $374.4 million. The Institutional Group's revenue fell to $430.3 million from $500.4 million, a decline of roughly 14%. Client assets reached $576.5 billion, up 6% from a year earlier but down 0.6% from June, and fee-based assets rose 9% to $239.7 billion.
Stifel's financial supplement, filed with the SEC, shows bank loans up about 21% to $26.1 billion and total deposits up 8.9% to $32.8 billion. But wealth management deposits fell 12.1% to $22.7 billion and sweep deposits dropped 8.1% to $9.7 billion, while client money market fund balances climbed 13.9% to $17.7 billion. The firm bought back $124 million of stock in the quarter and estimated its CET1 ratio at 14.5%.
For wealth managers and bank investors, the cash data are the key detail. Clients are still moving idle balances out of low-yield sweep accounts and into money funds, which cuts a cheap funding source for broker-owned banks; Stifel has been filling the gap with other deposits, which more than doubled to $10.1 billion. Net interest income still rose 9%, and credit looks clean, with net charge-offs at 0.06% of average loans. The firm did not disclose net new assets or give a 2026 outlook beyond saying it is on track for another record year.