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Stifel's August Client Assets Hit Record Highs: Can Growth Continue?

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Key Takeaways

  • Stifel's total client assets hit $532.7M in August, up 8.9% Y/Y and 1.9% sequentially.
  • Fee-based assets climbed 14% Y/Y to $213.6M, led by strong Private Client Group growth.
  • Bank loans rose 6.5% Y/Y, while client money market balances fell 4% from last year.

Stifel Financial Corp. (SF - Free Report) reported key operating results for August 2025, highlighting record levels of total client and fee-based assets. Total client assets grew 8.9% year over year and 1.9% sequentially to $532.7 million. The uptick was supported by strong financial advisor recruiting and favorable equity market performance.

Fee-based client assets increased 14% from the year-ago period and 2.2% month over month, reaching $213.6 million. Within this, Private Client Group’s fee-based assets totaled $186.7 million, reflecting a 13.9% year-over-year jump and a 2.2% sequential rise.

Bank loans, net (including loans held for sale), were $21.6 million, up 6.5% from the prior-year level. Meanwhile, client money market and insured product balances fell 4% year over year and nearly 1% sequentially, largely due to lower Smart Rate balances.

The company has been witnessing steady growth in client assets and fee-based client assets over the past few years. Total client assets and fee-based client assets have grown at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% and 10.5%, respectively, as of the end of 2024.

Going forward, with an expanding advisor base and continued gains in fee-based flows, Stifel appears well-positioned to sustain growth through the second half of 2025, assuming markets remain favorable.

Performance of Other Finance Firms

Stifel’s peers, such as Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW - Free Report) and Interactive Brokers (IBKR - Free Report) , have also been experiencing strong client activity and asset growth.

Charles Schwab’s total client assets were $11.23 trillion in August 2025, up 15.3% year over year and 2.4% from July. Core net new assets rose 35.4% year over year to $44.4 billion, though down 5.3% sequentially. Advisory assets totaled $5.66 trillion, representing 14.8% growth from the prior year. Over the past five years (ending 2024), Schwab’s client assets recorded an impressive CAGR of 20.1%, driven by strategic acquisitions and market appreciation.

Interactive Brokers reported 3.49 million Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) in August 2025, rising 29% year over year despite a marginal sequential decline. Total customer accounts increased 32% year over year to 4.05 million, driven by global expansion, innovative product launches and rising investor participation. The CAGR of client DARTs of Interactive Brokers stands at 10.3% over the last five years (2019–2024), with momentum continuing in the first half of 2025.

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