Sterne Agee Buyer Aims to Boost Midmarket Clearing, Custody Business

INTL FCStone Financial says it is rolling out retail clearing and custody solutions built by Sterne Agee along with its own institutional services to become a top midmarket provider.

The news comes about five months after INTL FCStone announced that it had struck a deal to buy Sterne Agee’s independent brokerage, clearing and RIA businesses from Stifel Financial for an undisclosed price. At the time, INTL FCStone said the move would bring it some $11 billion in client assets, more than 100,000 accounts and 50 correspondent clearing relationships.

The company now “offers custody and clearing solutions to the middle market that we believe cannot be found elsewhere, as we fill the gap in the market between large and small clearing firms,” said Roger Shaffer, a managing director of Correspondent Clearing at INTL FCStone, in a statement on Wednesday.

The platform is able to work with international customers of its correspondents. In the coming months, the firm will provide access to securities markets outside the U.S. for all customers.

“We are committed to continually expanding our capabilities, and to this end intend to leverage the resources provided by the Sterne Agee acquisition to provide for the needs of global, middle-market customers,” explained Steven zum Tobel, another managing director of correspondent clearing at INTL FCStone, in a statement.

“Many clearing firms are pulling out of international markets or restricting the number of non-U.S. clients available to their correspondents,” zum Tobel added. “We are part of a truly global organization … [and] plan to cater to both foreign and domestic firms. We look forward to opening up our custody and clearing services to non-U.S. correspondents.”

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