Stifel Financial Corp. provides retail brokerage; securities trading; investment banking; investment advisory; retail, consumer, and commercial banking; and related financial services for individual investors, corporations, municipalities, and institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. The company’s Global Wealth Management segment offers securities transaction, brokerage, and investment services; equity securities; fixed income securities, including municipal, corporate, and government agency securities; preferred stock; unit investment trusts; fee-based products; insurance and annuity products; and securities-based lending and asset management services. It also offers retail and commercial banking services, including personal loan programs, such as mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, loans secured by certificates of deposit or savings, and securities-based loans; and commercial lending, such as small business loans, commercial real estate loans, lines of credit, credit cards, term loans, and inventory and receivables financing. As of December 31, 2014, this segment had a network of 2,172 financial advisors located in 329 branch offices in 45 states and the District of Columbia; and 719 independent contractors. Its Institutional Group segment publishes research across various industry groups; distributes equity research products, executes equity trades, and sells the securities of companies for which the company acts as an underwriter; provides financial advisory services with respect to mergers and acquisitions, and the execution of public offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities; coordinates marketing, distribution, pricing, and stabilization of the company’s managed equity and debt offerings; and acts as an underwriter and dealer in bonds issued by states, cities, and other political subdivisions. Stifel Financial Corp. was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.