Sterne Agee

What Sterne Agee does

Sterne Agee is presented in the firmographic data as a private financial technology investment bank founded in 1901 in New York with 1,001-5,000 employees, but the substantive operational data in the input pertains to StoneX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SNAX), a publicly traded Fortune 50 financial services franchise that traces its lineage to Saul Stone & Co. founded in Chicago in 1924. The firm provides institutional-grade sales and trading, clearing and custody, risk management, payments, capital markets, and self-directed investing services across commodities, securities, FX, and OTC derivatives. Core technology infrastructure includes access to 40+ derivatives exchanges, 185 FX markets, 300+ customizable OTC products, a cross-border payments platform covering 180+ countries and 140+ currencies, and an award-winning Market Intelligence platform delivering analyst commentary across global markets. Sub-brands include FOREX.com, City Index, StoneX Pro, StoneX Prime, StoneX Hedge, Farm Advantage, and StoneX Digital (digital asset execution and custody).

The business model is overwhelmingly transaction-fee driven, with revenue generated from clearing and execution fees, trading spreads, FX bid-ask spreads, OTC structured product fees, payments transaction fees, and advisory/professional services fees. Customer segments span commercial clients (agricultural producers/cooperatives, energy producers, manufacturers), institutional clients (banks, broker-dealers, hedge funds, family offices), payments clients (corporates/institutions), and self-directed retail investors accessing digital FX, equity, and precious metals trading. Go-to-market combines high-touch enterprise relationship management with digital self-service platforms and mobile applications. Distribution is global across six continents, with localized operations in the United States, United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, and Japan. The firm has executed 20+ strategic acquisitions in the past decade, including the pivotal 2008 FCStone acquisition and the 2020 GAIN Capital merger that added FOREX.com and City Index. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with customized fee structures negotiated per client based on volume and service requirements.

Name

Sterne Agee

Legal name

StoneX Group Inc.

Website

https://sterneagee.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1924

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Sterne Agee is presented as a New York-based financial technology investment bank (founded 1901), but operational data centers on StoneX Group Inc., a publicly traded Fortune 50 financial services franchise providing institutional clearing, trading, payments, risk management, and self-directed investing services globally across commodities, securities, FX, and OTC derivatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Clearing and Execution Services: Provides institutional-grade securities and futures clearing, execution and custody services to clients globally. Revenue generated through transaction fees, commissions, and custody fees.
2. Sales and Trading: Low-touch electronic execution, post-trade settlement and clearing for equities, derivatives and fixed income. Revenue from trading spreads, commissions, and market making activities.
3. Foreign Exchange Trading: Connects clients to 185 FX markets and facilitates payment solutions across 140+ currencies. Revenue generated through spreads on FX transactions and payment fees.
4. OTC Derivatives Trading: Offers 300+ customizable OTC products and 22 structured products aligned with hedging needs. Revenue from bid-ask spreads and structured product fees.
5. Commodity Risk Management and Advisory: Professional advisory services helping clients mitigate operational and financial risk while maximizing margins. Revenue from advisory fees and consulting services.
6. Capital Markets and Advisory: Financing, funding and liquidity solutions through StoneX Capital Markets for debt capital markets and structured credit.
7. Payments Services: Cross-border payments covering 180+ countries and 140+ currencies with fees for transaction processing.
8. Self-Directed Investing: FX and equity trading for self-directed investors, physical precious metals investment, and wealth management services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sterne Agee is a financial technology investment bank that provides advisory and capital raising services to companies. The firm engages with corporate clients on investment banking mandates, supporting them with strategic advisory and access to capital markets. Its offering combines traditional investment banking expertise with a financial technology orientation.

Product overview

StoneX is an institutional-grade financial services franchise providing a comprehensive platform of products and services. The core offerings include listed derivatives (40+ exchanges), securities (equities and fixed income), foreign exchange (185 markets, 140+ currencies), OTC derivatives (300+ customizable products), supply and trading, payments, risk management, clearing and custody, capital markets, and self-directed investing. These products integrate through the StoneX Pro and StoneX Prime professional platforms, with specialized modules like StoneX Hedge for commercial hedging, Farm Advantage for agricultural producers, Market Intelligence for analytics, and digital asset services. The architecture is a platform-plus-modules model where the core trading and clearing infrastructure supports specialized solutions for different client segments including commercial, institutional, retail, and payments clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FOREX.com: Online forex and CFD trading platform acquired through GAIN Capital merger in 2020.
• City Index
• StoneX Pro
• StoneX Hedge
• StoneX Prime
• Farm Advantage

Products and services

• Corporate Advisory Services
• Capital Raising Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Access to 40+ derivatives exchanges for clearing and execution across securities, commodities, currencies, indices
• +3 more outcomes

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GAIN Capital (FOREX.com, City Index)coreOthers · 1 January 2020StoneX completed merger with GAIN Capital in 2020, bringing brands FOREX.com and City Index under the StoneX name. This acquisition expanded StoneX's retail and self-directed trading capabilities and added established FX brands to its portfolio.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Marex: Marex is a global commodities-focused financial services franchise offering listed derivatives clearing and execution, OTC, FX, and securities financing. Closely comparable to StoneX across asset classes and client segments (commercial, institutional, payments).
• TP ICAP: TP ICAP is the largest interdealer broker globally, providing voice and hybrid broking across rates, FX, commodities, equities, and credit. Directly comparable to StoneX's institutional sales-and-trading and OTC intermediation businesses.
• Compagnie Financière Tradition: Compagnie Financière Tradition is a global interdealer broker with strong franchises in commodities and emerging market fixed income, FX, and money markets. Peer to StoneX in institutional voice/electronic broking and OTC intermediation.
• ED&F Man Capital Markets: ED&F Man Capital Markets is a specialist in soft commodities (sugar, coffee, cocoa) broking and clearing, with adjacent FX and metals operations. Highly comparable to StoneX's agricultural commodity risk management and supply & trading franchises.
• Sucden Financial: Sucden Financial is an FCA-regulated commodities, FX, and securities derivatives broker serving institutional and commercial clients globally. Directly comparable niche peer to StoneX in commodity derivatives and FX intermediation.

Emerging players

• Interactive Brokers: Interactive Brokers provides multi-asset electronic trading to retail and institutional clients across equities, options, futures, FX, and bonds globally. Comparable to StoneX's self-directed and prime brokerage offerings, with a more technology-native cost structure.
• IG Group: IG Group is a leading retail CFDs and spread betting platform with strong FX and equities offerings. Comparable to StoneX's FOREX.com and City Index retail platforms acquired via the 2020 GAIN Capital merger.

Broad incumbents

• CME Group: CME Group is the largest derivatives exchange operator globally. While not a direct competitor on the customer side, CME is the principal exchange/clearing venue StoneX uses for futures and listed derivatives, making it a peer in the broader institutional clearing stack.
• Jefferies Financial Group: Jefferies is a mid-market focused full-service investment bank with equities, fixed income, capital markets, and commodities. Comparable to the historical Sterne Agee investment banking franchise and to StoneX's capital markets and securities businesses.
• Stifel Financial: Stifel is a diversified mid-market broker-dealer and investment bank with institutional brokerage, capital markets, and wealth management. Comparable in scale and business mix to StoneX's historical Sterne Agee and StoneX Capital Markets franchises.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sterne-agee

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sterne Agee