Stifel Financial hired veteran wealth management executive Jeff Markham into the firm’s broker-dealer subsidiary as managing director. Markham will help implement the firm’s growth strategy and serve on Stifel’s global wealth management operating committee. He will be based in Dallas, Texas.

Markham comes to Stifel from Merrill Lynch, where he spent 35 years in a number of leadership roles. He most recently served as vice chair of Merrill Wealth Management, leading the firm’s community markets strategy. Prior to that, he was division executive for the west division since 2017. He began his career in 1988 as a financial advisor in Fort Worth, Texas.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Jeff to Stifel,” Ron Kruszewski, chairman and CEO of Stifel, and Jim Zemlyak, co-president of Stifel, said in a joint statement. “As the firm ‘where success meets success,’ our ability to attract a highly-respected leader like Jeff speaks volumes as to where we are as a firm and where we are heading as we continue to grow our wealth management business.”

“I’m thrilled to begin this new chapter of my career at Stifel,” Markham said. “Stifel is an incredibly well-run firm with a unique wealth management culture focused on helping its financial advisors succeed. With its growth mindset, outstanding resources and lack of bureaucracy, I believe Stifel is perfectly positioned to appeal to successful advisors who are looking to better serve their clients and get more from their careers.”