Stifel Financial Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ron Kruszewski said the firm may increase its recruiting budget to expand outreach to experienced brokers at competing firms. AdvisorHub reports that Kruszewski raised the possibility while speaking with analysts after Stifel's fourth-quarter earnings call, signaling a renewed focus on advisor growth.
Kruszewski said Stifel's current position allows it to pursue additional market share if it chooses to deploy more capital toward recruiting. AdvisorHub adds that he described Stifel as a traditional wealth management firm with a strong reputation among advisors and suggested the firm should lean more aggressively into that advantage.
According to AdvisorHub, Kruszewski did not outline how much additional capital Stifel might allocate to recruiting or whether the firm would increase transition bonuses. He said he planned to discuss the issue further with James M. Zemlyak, head of Stifel Global Wealth Management, after the earnings call. Kruszewski framed recruiting as one of several strategic options for capital deployment, alongside stock buybacks, dividend increases, and acquisitions.
Stifel spent much of the past year recovering from a slowdown in advisor recruiting that Kruszewski previously attributed to intense competition. The firm added 92 experienced advisors in 2025, nearly triple the 34 experienced advisors it recruited the year before, as reported by AdvisorHub.
Kruszewski also questioned the durability of the breakaway broker trend, whereadvisors leave wirehouses to join or form independent firms. He said declining interest rates will compress the cash spreads earned by private equity firms that have fueled much of the move toward independence. He also noted that rising competition has increased costs, which could further strain outside investors backing breakaway platforms.
According to AdvisorHub, the CEO has consistently expressed skepticism about the profitability of the independent brokerage model. Stifel agreed in October to sell its small independent brokerage unit to Equitable Advisors, a transaction the firm expects to close this quarter.
Together, Kruszewski's comments suggest Stifel may prioritize recruiting as a core growth lever while continuing to distance itself from the independent brokerage space.
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