Stifel gets $2.1B team at Oppenheimer in week’s advisor moves

Stifel Financial is shaking up the wealth management business on the West Coast with its recruitment of a team formerly managing more than $2.1 billion for Oppenheimer.

The Summa Group, led by a pair of brothers — Brian K. Werdesheim and Jeffrey L. Werdesheim — along with Robert W. Dalie and Gary A. Chiate, is joining Stifel’s offices in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sherman Oaks, California. The team had previously managed $2.1 billion at Oppenheimer.

The Summa Group has received many industry recognitions over the years. Forbes named it the No. 9 best in-state wealth management team for California this year and No. 57 in its list of America’s Top Wealth Management Teams for Private Wealth last year.

In a statement, The Summa Group praised Stifel’s dedication to “advisor autonomy” and its “client-first culture,” highlighting the firm’s planning tools and access to investment and consumer banking services.

Industry recruiter Phil Waxelbaum, founder of Masada Consulting, said the team’s departure most likely marks Oppenheimer’s biggest loss ever.

“This is a big win for Stifel, and it takes Oppenheimer down a peg in the regional rankings,” he said.

Stifel is starting to reheat its recruiting engines after seeing a slowdown in the past year or so. In an earnings call in April, Stifel CEO Ron Kruszewski reported the firm’s advisor headcount fell by 1% year over year to 2,340.

The principals at Summa have long had ties to Oppenheimer. Brian Werdesheim began his career in 1993 at CIBC World Markets, which bought Oppenheimer in 1997 and later divested its brokerage business. Jeffrey Werdesheim started at Shearson Lehman in 1988 before moving to CIBC in 1992. 

Robert W. Dalie joined CIBC in 2001, and Gary A. Chiate came to CIBC in 1997 after a decade at Merrill. 

Oppenheimer manages $49 billion in assets and has 933 brokers. Stifel oversees $486 billion in assets with 2,340 brokers.