Even though the St. Louis, MO-based Stifel Financial is 125 years old, they are still thinking like a growing start-up. The entrepreneurial spirit is high amongst the ever-growing Stifel team. Stifel is one of the nation's premier full-service financial firms. They provide brokerage, trading, investment banking, investment advisory, and other related services.
Though the company is based in St. Louis, it has more than 100 locations all over the U.S. Through a highly structured and successful onboarding process, the company does a great job of maintaining the company's culture throughout the many locations.
Diving Into the Values at Stifel Financial
Values to Live By
Stifel's company values and culture go hand-in-hand. They are all about diversity and inclusion. Through specialized employees whose work it is to focus on the internal atmosphere at the company, the work very hard to maintain and increase the diversity of the company.
Stifel CEO Ronald Kruszewski had this to say about the pursuit of greater diversity at his company: "Bottom line: we need more women advisors. We need more diversity, we need both gender and racial diversity. We need to embrace diversity. I'm very excited about this. No lip-service here. This is about rethinking the way we approach the business. It's been a male-dominated industry, and we're going to change that."
The company even has a break down of the overall diversity throughout the company. The data shows a very diverse set of employees, especially in an industry that has lacked diversity in the past. But, as Kruszewski said, it isn't their goal to just be diverse. The company will continue to push for greater inclusion until it revolutionizes the industry and paves the way for more opportunities across the field.
The People at Stifel Financial
A Wealth of Experience
The people at Stifel aren't only diverse in race and gender, but also vastly diverse in experience level. Stifel is made up of ex-bankers, lawyers, investors and so much more. There are folks that used to ply their trade on Wall Street, or maybe they worked for a local, boutique investing firm. At Stifel, you get the best of both worlds. You get the big-time projects and the local community focus as well.
The Culture at Stifel Financial
Diversity and Inclusion
The culture at Stifel is an extension of the strong company values. At other firms the size of Stifel, culture is never put at the forefront of employee conversation at all. But at Stifel, it really is. They say that they are like a start-up because there is no stale, inhibiting corporate culture. People can be themselves at Stifel, which transitions over to the clients feeling safe with a genuine person.
And again, the culture is all about gaining different perspectives from as many different people as possible, because the company knows that in doing so, they are only making the organization stronger. Ashley Ambuel, a Director of Employee Relations, said, "Stifel is dedicated to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion by embracing and welcoming everyone. I have seen the firm extend and deepen its commitment to a diverse, supportive, open environment that enables everyone at Stifel to do their best work. We know that a breadth of perspectives and life experiences leads to better decisions, innovation, and client service both internally and externally.
They do this by reimagining every business process, especially the way the company acquires talent, which is a vital process that some companies overlook the importance of, but not Stifel. "Stifel has also broadened how and where we recruit our next generation of leaders, investment bankers, financial advisors, and support staff, specifically seeking out pools of talent among minorities. Stifel wants a team that fully reflects the communities we serve across many dimensions of diversity," Ambuel said.
The Benefits at Stifel Financial
Benefits That Will Never Stifle Your Life
The benefits of working at Stifel are innumerable. First off, Stifel has a Stifel Total Health Connect program that is a concierge service for all medical and benefits questions. This is an awesome tool to have available, as these questions come up more than we think, and sometimes it isn't clear who the right person to ask is. The service can get you in touch with the exact person you need at the drop of a hat. Some other benefits and perks of working with Stifel are:
Stifel also has a Work-Life Solutions program for employees as well as their eligible family members. This program is designed to aid and incentivize continuing educational efforts. The program also offers confidential counseling for a variety of personal and family-related issues at no cost.
