Stifel Former Merrill Exec Steffens as Vice Chair of Asset Management

Stifel appoints Launny Steffens as vice chairman of Asset Management

Launny Steffens, who helped to build Merrill’s retail business, will work to expand financial advisors' use of Stifel's asset products.

Stifel Financial Corp. is expanding the use of its asset management capabilities among financial advisors by hiring Merrill Lynch veteran Launny Steffens to a newly created role as vice chairman of the division.

Steffens will join Stifel, the St. Louis-based broker/dealer and investment bank, from Spring Mountain Capital, a private investment management firm focused on alternative assets that he co-founded with former McKinsey executive Greg Ho. As part of the deal, Stifel will acquire Spring Mountain, a New York-based company with over $1 billion in assets under management, along with Ho and other staffers.

Steffens spent about 38 years at Merrill before leaving in 2001. He subsequently held leadership roles in venture capital and commercial real estate investment before launching Spring Mountain.

During his time at Merrill, Steffens had been president of the firm’s consumer markets and chairman of the firm’s U.S. Private Client Group. That division grew from about $200 billion in AUM in 1985 to $1.6 trillion in 2000, according to the announcement.

Steffens is tasked with expanding Stifel’s financial advisor network while evolving its asset management capabilities and sourcing investment banking opportunities.

In the announcement, Steffens praised Stifel’s culture, saying, “It reminds me of an earlier era in our business, when firms were more entrepreneurial, client-focused, and advisors truly owned their book of business.”

Overview of Stifel’s asset management strategy and leadership transition.

• Expand Stifel’s financial advisor network and increase use of the firm’s asset products.
• Advance asset management capabilities and source investment banking opportunities.

• Experience in asset management leadership from a veteran financial services background (as described in the article, including Steffens’s 38 years at Merrill and leadership roles).
• Co-founder of a private investment management firm and experience with an acquisition (Spring Mountain) integrated into a broader corporate strategy.