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

Stifel Financial Corp. SF 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 and Interactive Brokers IBKR, 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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