No: Stifel is paid through commissions, loads, trails, markups and revenue sharing from fund and annuity sponsors on its brokerage accounts, as well as advisory fees on its advisory accounts. Stifel, Nicolaus & Company is registered with the SEC as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser. In its wrap programs, the Stifel fee is up to 2.00% a year, negotiable, with a separate manager or model fee in some programs.
That makes Stifel a dual registrant, not a fee-only firm. Here’s what its own filings say.
How Stifel is paid
Stifel (CRD 793) offers brokerage and advisory accounts, and its Form CRS, effective April 21, 2025, describes both.
Brokerage. You pay “a ‘commission’ or other ‘transaction-based’ fee for each transaction.” Some investments add an upfront load or a “trail” paid for as long as you hold them. When Stifel trades with you from its own inventory, it marks the price up or down. The Form CRS says this gives it “an incentive to encourage you to trade more frequently and in greater amounts.” There’s no minimum to open a brokerage account.
Advisory programs. You pay an asset-based fee, usually at the start of each quarter, calculated on everything in the account “(including cash).” In wrap fee programs that fee also covers most trading and custody.
A commission-paid advisory program. The Form CRS notes “an advisory program with a transaction-based fee structure.” The Advisory Consulting Services brochure, dated March 31, 2026, names it Vantage: clients “pay transaction-based charges (commissions)” based on Stifel’s standard schedule. Vantage is generally not available for IRAs.
Financial planning. The planning brochure, also dated March 31, 2026, says Stifel “generally charge[s] up to $5,000” for fee-based plans, and may allow more for complex situations.
On its Form ADV Part 1, filed October 22, 2026, the advisory side reports being paid by a percentage of assets, fixed fees and commissions. It also reports broker-dealer and insurance broker or agent businesses.
The CFP Board’s standards allow “fee-only” only when neither the advisor nor a related party receives sales-related compensation. Commissions, loads, trails and revenue sharing are sales-related pay, so Stifel doesn’t meet that test as a firm.
What else the filings disclose
Payments from product companies. The Form CRS says many investments it sells, “including in particular, mutual funds, variable annuities, alternative investments, and cash sweep options,” are ones for which Stifel receives third-party compensation. Some sponsors share revenue with Stifel, mainly on mutual funds and variable annuities.
Its own products. Stifel says it earns “greater fees, compensation, and other benefits” when you invest in products it or its affiliates advise, manage or sponsor. The wrap brochure says some programs use managers owned by its parent, Stifel Financial Corp., and that product fees paid to those managers add to the parent’s revenue, though Stifel and your advisor don’t share in it.
Your cash. The Form CRS says its sweep programs give it “an incentive for you to maintain and direct otherwise uninvested cash” into deposits at its affiliated banks. The wrap brochure says Stifel receives up to $100 a year per account from the affiliated banks in one sweep program.
Insurance. Stifel is licensed as an insurance agency in various states. Advisors who are licensed agents sell insurance for “separate and customary commission compensation,” and in a few states the sale goes through an affiliate, Stifel Nicolaus Insurance Agency.
How advisors are paid. Advisors receive “a percentage of advisory fees and commissions and other transaction-based fees,” and their total cash pay rises with the revenue they generate. Equity awards in Stifel Financial Corp. are a standard part of pay, and some advisors receive recruiting or retention pay and employee loans.
Disciplinary history. The Form CRS answers “Yes.” The details are on BrokerCheck.
What Stifel costs
Stifel’s wrap brochure, dated March 31, 2026, publishes a ceiling, not a schedule of what clients typically pay:
| Fee part | What the brochure says |
|---|---|
| Stifel fee | Up to 2.00% a year, negotiable |
| Product fee, manager-traded portfolios | 0.10% to 0.85%, generally not negotiable |
| Product fee, model-based portfolios | 0.10% to 0.50% |
| Product fee, IMC program | 0.23% to 0.75% |
| Usual minimum | $5,000 to $500,000, depending on program |
Fund expenses are on top, and the brochure says fees for wrap accounts are “typically higher” than for advisory accounts where trading and custody are billed separately. If you negotiate a tiered or flat fee, it notes you “could end up paying a higher fee than as set forth in this brochure” as your balance changes.
At the published ceiling, the Stifel fee alone comes to:
- $500,000: up to $10,000 a year, plus any product fee
- $1 million: up to $20,000 a year, plus any product fee
The ceiling is a maximum, not a quote, so ask for your rate in writing. For comparison, fee-only firms that publish a percentage fee charge a median 1% of assets, or $5,000 on $500,000 and $10,000 on $1 million at that rate. Fee-only planners who charge a flat fee for ongoing planning charge a median $4,500 a year (middle half $2,400 to $7,200), and a one-time plan has a median of $2,000, against Stifel’s planning fee of generally up to $5,000. A flat-fee planner may not manage your investments for that price, while a Stifel wrap fee covers management, trading and custody. Our guide to what a one-time financial plan costs goes further.
Who Stifel may suit
Stifel may suit someone who wants an advisor at a large firm with many program choices, from model portfolios with a $5,000 minimum to outside managers, plus banking and lending through its affiliated banks. Someone who rarely trades may find a brokerage account fits, since there’s no minimum and no ongoing advisory fee. Someone who wants discretionary management but trades seldom could ask whether Vantage’s commission pricing costs less than an asset-based fee in their case.
Someone who wants advice from a firm paid only by them, or a published price they can compare before meeting anyone, may want to compare a fee-only planner first. Our guides to financial advisor vs stockbroker and fee-only vs fee-based vs commission explain the pay models. For similar firms, see Raymond James and Morgan Stanley.
How to check it yourself
- Read the Form CRS. It’s four pages and linked from the firm’s SEC record. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Read Item 5 of your program’s brochure, which Stifel posts at stifel.com/disclosures. It lists the fee ceiling, product fees and minimums.
- Ask which role your advisor is in for each account: broker or investment adviser.
- Ask for your total cost in dollars, including the Stifel fee, any product fee and fund expenses.
- Look up your advisor on BrokerCheck.
Our guide to telling whether an advisor is fee-only walks through each check, and questions to ask a financial advisor gives you the rest.
Compare similar firms
Other regional brokerage firms we’ve checked against the fee-only definition: Edward Jones, Raymond James, RBC Wealth Management, Baird, Janney. See all 50 firms.