Tr?id=566623520170033&ev=PageView&noscript=1

B. Riley Sells Employee Wealth Management Group to Stifel

Posted on November 22nd, 2024 at 2:11 PM
B. Riley Sells Employee Wealth Management Group to Stifel

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law

B. Riley Financial Inc. has announced the sale of part of its employee wealth management division to Stifel Financial Corp. As reported by InvestmentNews, the deal, valued between $27 million and $35 million in cash, involves the transfer of 40 to 50 W2 advisors.

The transaction price is significantly lower than earlier expectations. In September, Reuters reported that Stifel was in talks to acquire B. Riley's entire retail brokerage group for $100 million. However, Stifel's interest ultimately did not extend to B. Riley's roughly 190 independent financial advisors, who operate as independent contractors.

Employee advisors, such as those included in this transaction, generally generate more revenue for broker-dealers compared to independent contractors. According to InvestmentNews, a senior industry executive noted the unexpected drop in deal value, emphasizing that B. Riley will still bear the costs of maintaining its independent contractor business.

Stifel, according to InvestmentNews, has a history of acquiring distressed wealth management and investment banking firms. B. Riley expects the 40 to 50 advisors to transition to Stifel in early 2025, bringing with them up to $4.5 billion in client assets as of September’s end.

B. Riley has faced several challenges recently, including a decline in its share price amid an SEC review of the firm's risk disclosures and scrutiny over interactions between its founder and Brian Kahn, former CEO of Franchise Group Inc.

 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next
Quotes Bigger

I want to extend a tremendous thank you for your dedication, professionalism, hard work and patient demeanor through this challenging time. It was enjoyable interacting with everyone on your team, this certainly helped while dealing with the situation and working towards resolution.

Dan M.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

1780079651 Law
May 29, 2026
SEC Investigating Fraud Allegations in Private Credit Industry

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) actively is investigating allegations of fraud involving private credit firms, signaling continued regulatory scrutiny of the rapidly expanding sector.

1779992462 Law
May 28, 2026
FINRA Adopts New Rules to Accelerate Arbitration for Elderly and Vulnerable Investors

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has adopted amendments to its Code of Arbitration Procedure to expedite arbitration proceedings for certain eligible parties, according to regulatory updates.

L
May 27, 2026
FINRA Sanctions Cambridge Investment Research for Supervisory Failure in Variable Annuity Exchanges

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has censured Cambridge Investment Research and ordered the firm to pay nearly $280,000 after finding that it failed to properly supervise variable annuity exchanges, according to AdvisorHub.