Core Insights - Stifel Financial Corp. reported record levels of total client and fee-based assets for August 2025, with total client assets reaching $532.7 million, an increase of 8.9% year over year and 1.9% sequentially, driven by strong financial advisor recruitment and favorable equity market conditions [1][8] - Fee-based client assets grew 14% year over year and 2.2% month over month, totaling $213.6 million, with the Private Client Group's fee-based assets reflecting a 13.9% year-over-year increase [2][8] - Bank loans, net, increased by 6.5% year over year to $21.6 million, while client money market and insured product balances decreased by 4% year over year, primarily due to lower Smart Rate balances [3][8] Growth Trends - The company has experienced steady growth in client assets and fee-based client assets, with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% for total client assets and 10.5% for fee-based client assets as of the end of 2024 [4] - Stifel is well-positioned for continued growth in the second half of 2025, supported by an expanding advisor base and ongoing gains in fee-based flows, assuming favorable market conditions persist [4] Industry Performance - Stifel's peers, including Charles Schwab Corp. and Interactive Brokers, have also reported strong client activity and asset growth, indicating a positive trend across the financial services industry [5] - Charles Schwab's total client assets reached $11.23 trillion in August 2025, up 15.3% year over year, while Interactive Brokers reported a 32% year-over-year increase in total customer accounts to 4.05 million [6][7]