This week we chat with Brad Raymond, Head of Investment Banking at Stifel Financial. Stifel provides strategic advisory services globally, as well as raising public and private debt and equity. Clients are served by more than 400 bankers at Stifel and its owned companies including KBW and Miller Buckfire.

The Lead Left: Brad, thanks for making time. How should the market be viewing Stifel’s brand today?

Brad Raymond: Our vision is to be the best full-service investment bank targeting middle-market companies. To us, full-service means covering all sectors, all products, and all geographies relevant to the middle-market.

A decade ago Ron [Kruszewski] and Victor [Nesi] began to assemble an institutional business through a combination of strategic acquisitions, and group and individual hiring. Their goal was to cover every relevant sector in the U.S. economy. Today, we’re pretty much there.

We now offer bulge-bracket-like capabilities to a constituency that often has been overlooked and underserved by the biggest investment banks.

The bottom line is our clients come first – always. That’s our unrelenting commitment, and we stake our reputation on it. We tailor our process according to the goals and objectives of each client and have fostered a culture of providing clients with superior advice, not necessarily the easy answer.

TLL: Talk about the products you’re targeting.