ST. LOUIS, MO--(Marketwire - Mar 13, 2012) - Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: [ SF ]) today announced that Brad Reback has joined Stifel Nicolaus as Managing Director and Senior Equity Research Analyst covering the Software Sector.

"We are very pleased that Brad has joined the Stifel technology research team," stated Hugh Warns, Director of Research at Stifel Nicolaus. "Brad is a proven professional who is broadly respected throughout the industry for his expertise in enterprise and application software. Brad joins our three other software industry senior analysts, Tom Roderick, Todd Weller, and Blair Abernethy, further solidifying our #1 coverage of the software sector. Brad's addition also enhances our unwavering commitment to research and solidifies our industry-leading coverage of U.S. technology companies."

Mr. Reback brings over 17 years of experience, including the past 12 covering software at Oppenheimer & Co. Prior to his senior analyst role at Oppenheimer, Mr. Reback was a research associate covering the environmental services industry. He is a graduate of Cornell University, where he received a B.A. in Economics. Mr. Reback also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He will be based in the firm's Atlanta office.

About Stifel Nicolaus Research
Stifel Nicolaus is one of the leading U.S. equity research departments in terms of breadth and quality following significant investment over the last eight years. Today, our 78 analysts cover approximately 1,125 companies across 13 industry groups and 86 sub-sectors, ranking Stifel #4 in total U.S. equity research coverage. Stifel is also the second largest provider of U.S. small cap equity research, and the largest provider of U.S. equity coverage in Technology, Real Estate, and Aerospace & Defense. Our research leadership has been consistently recognized as among the best on Wall Street. Stifel Research's recent award highlights include:

• #1 in U.S. Stockpicking out of 193 firms in the 2011 FT/StarMine World's Top Analyst Survey
• Most #1 ranked analysts in 2011 FT/StarMine World's Top Analyst Survey
• #1 out of 183 firms in The Wall Street Journal Best on the Street Survey, 2010
• Stifel is the only firm ranked in the top 12 each year for the past 8 years in the WSJ Best on the Street and FT/StarMine Awards (including Legg Mason Capital Markets, which was acquired by Stifel in December 2005)

Company Information
Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: [ SF ]) is a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that conducts its banking, securities, and financial services business through several wholly owned subsidiaries. Stifel clients are served through Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and Thomas Weisel Partners LLC in the U.S., through Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc. in Canada, and through Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited in the United Kingdom and Europe. The Company's broker-dealer affiliates provide securities brokerage, investment banking, trading, investment advisory, and related financial services to individual investors, professional money managers, businesses, and municipalities. Stifel Bank & Trust offers a full range of consumer and commercial lending solutions. Stifel Trust Company, N.A. offers trust and related services. To learn more about Stifel Financial, please visit the Company's web site at [ www.stifel.com ].