Profile: Stifel Financial Corp. (SF)

Stifel Financial Corp. (Financial) is a financial services holding company. The Company provides securities related financial services through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Stifel Nicolaus & Company, a retail and institutional brokerage and investment banking firm; Century Securities Associates, Inc. (CSA), an independent contractor broker-dealer firm; Stifel Nicolaus Limited (SN Ltd), the Company’s international subsidiary, and Stifel Bank & Trust, a retail and commercial bank. The Company operates in five segments: Private Client Group, Equity Capital Markets, Fixed Income Capital Markets, Stifel Bank and Other. On December 31, 2008, the Company acquired Butler Wick & Company, Inc.

Private Client Group

Financial provides securities transaction, brokerage and investment services to its clients through Stifel Nicolaus branch system and through CSA, its wholly owned independent contractor subsidiary. During the year ended December 31, 2008, the Private Client Group had a network of 146 branch offices in 29 states, primarily in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. The Company offers equity securities, taxable and tax-exempt fixed income securities, including municipal, corporate, and government agency securities, preferred stock and unit investment trusts. Stifel Nicolaus also offers a range of externally managed fee-based products. In addition, it offers insurance and annuity products, and investment company shares through agreements with third party distributors. The Company encourages its financial advisors to pursue the products and services they feel most comfortable recommending, rather than emphasizing proprietary products. Its private clients may choose from a traditional, commission-based structure or fee-based money management programs.

As of December 31, 2008, CSA had affiliations with 173 independent contractors in 146 branch offices in 29 states. CSA’s independent contractors provide the same types of financial products and services to its private clients as does Stifel Nicolaus. Under their contractual arrangements, these independent contractors may also provide accounting services, real estate brokerage, insurance, or other business activities for their own account. However, all securities transactions must be transacted through CSA. CSA is an introducing broker-dealer and, as such, clears its transactions through Stifel Nicolaus.

Equity Capital Market

The Equity Capital Markets segment includes research, institutional sales and trading, investment banking and syndicate. Financial’s research department supports associates who publish research across multiple industry groups and provides its clients with timely, insightful and actionable research. Its equity sales and trading team distributes the Company’s equity research products and communicates its investment recommendations to the client base of institutional investors, executes equity trades, sells the securities of companies, for which it acts as an underwriter and makes a market in over 1,100 domestic securities.

The Company’s investment banking activities include the provision of financial advisory services principally with respect to mergers and acquisitions, and the execution of public offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities. The investment banking group focuses on middle market companies, as well as on larger companies in targeted industries, which include real estate, financial services, healthcare, aerospace/defense and government services, telecommunications, transportation, energy, business services, consumer services and education. The Company’s syndicate department coordinates marketing, distribution, pricing and stabilization of its managed equity and debt offerings. In addition, the department coordinates its underwriting participations and selling group opportunities managed by other investment banking firms.

Fixed Income Capital Markets

Financial’s fixed income capital markets group includes institutional sales and trading, and public finance. The institutional sales and trading group executes trades in both tax-exempt and taxable products, with diversification across municipal, corporate, government agency and mortgage-backed securities. Its fixed income inventory is maintained to facilitate order flow and support the investment strategies of its institutional fixed income clients, as opposed to seeking trading profits through trading. The Company’s public finance group acts as an underwriter and dealer in bonds issued by states, cities and other political subdivisions, and acts as manager or participant in offerings managed by other firms.

Stifel Bank

Stifel Bank offers retail and commercial banking services to private and corporate clients, including personal loan programs such as fixed and variable mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, personal loans, loans secured by certificate of deposits (CDs) or savings, automobile loans and securities-based loans. The Company also offers commercial lending programs such as small business loans, commercial real estate loans, lines of credit, credit cards, term loans, and inventory and receivables financing, in addition to other banking products.