Stifel Forms Strategic Partnership With Israel's Ourcrowd

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stifel Financial Corp. SF today announced a strategic partnership with OurCrowd, an Israel-based global venture capital and crowdfunding platform connecting investors with early-stage, high-tech companies across industries and geographies. Stifel will also make a minority investment in OurCrowd.

Under terms of the agreement, Stifel and OurCrowd will establish a distribution relationship focused on building an investment offering for Stifel's accredited investor clients. This will include offering curated access to both venture capital funds and individual portfolio companies on a deal-by-deal basis. In addition, Stifel may provide advisory and related investment banking services to portfolio companies as needed.

"As companies stay private for longer, we are excited to be associated with such an innovative platform that is empowering individual investors to access the ever-expanding venture capital asset category," said Ronald J. Kruszewski, Chairman and CEO of Stifel. "Through this partnership, our clients will gain access to attractive, early-stage investment opportunities that have been typically restricted to traditional VC firms and family offices."

"Partnering with a leading U.S.-based wealth management and investment banking firm like Stifel is yet another major step toward further expanding the OurCrowd brand and investor base," noted Jon Medved, Founder and CEO of OurCrowd. "We also look forward to collaborating with Stifel's investment and venture bankers to identify potential ways we can help identify and best support prospects and portfolio companies."

Stifel currently operates the seventh largest U.S. retail brokerage network (among full-service investment firms) with nearly 2,200 advisors nationwide and more than $300 billion in client assets. The firm also operates the industry's largest U.S. equity research platform and employs more than 400 investment banking professionals with extensive experience across a broad range of products and industry verticals.

The OurCrowd community consists of almost 37,000 registered investors from over 183 countries. Rated "the most active venture investor in Israel" by Pitchbook, OurCrowd has more than $1.28 billion in commitments and has made investments in more than 200 companies and funds. OurCrowd already has 35 exits to date, including Beyond Meat's IPO, JUMP Bikes' sale to Uber, Briefcam's sale to Canon, Argus' sale to Continental, Crosswise's sale to Oracle, and Replay's sale to Intel.

Stifel Company Information
Stifel Financial Corp. SF is a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that conducts its banking, securities, and financial services business through several wholly owned subsidiaries. Stifel's broker-dealer clients are served in the United States through Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, including its Eaton Partners business division; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.; Miller Buckfire & Co., LLC; Century Securities Associates, Inc., and in the United Kingdom and Europe through Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited. The Company's broker-dealer affiliates provide securities brokerage, investment banking, trading, investment advisory, and related financial services to individual investors, professional money managers, businesses, and municipalities. Stifel Bank and Stifel Bank & Trust offer a full range of consumer and commercial lending solutions. Stifel Trust Company, N.A. and Stifel Trust Company Delaware, N.A. offer trust and related services. To learn more about Stifel, please visit the Company's website at www.stifel.com.

About OurCrowd: 
OurCrowd is the leading global equity crowdfunding platform for accredited investors. Managed by a team of seasoned investment professionals and led by serial entrepreneur Jon Medved, OurCrowd vets and selects companies, invests its own capital, and invites its accredited membership of investors and institutional partners to invest alongside in these opportunities. OurCrowd provides support to its portfolio companies, assigns industry experts as mentors, and creates growth opportunities through its network of strategic multinational partnerships. The OurCrowd community consists of almost 37,000 registered investors from over 183 countries. Rated "the most active venture investor in Israel" by Pitchbook, OurCrowd has $1.28B in commitments and has made investments in 200 companies and funds. OurCrowd already has 35 exits to date. OurCrowd exits include: Beyond Meat's IPO BYND; JUMP Bikes sold to Uber, Briefcam sold to Canon, Argus sold to Continental, Crosswise sold to Oracle, and Replay sold to Intel. To join OurCrowd as an accredited investor, visit www.ourcrowd.com.

Stifel Investor Relations Contact
Joel Jeffrey, +1 212-271-3610
investorrelations@stifel.com

Stifel Media Relations Contact
Neil Shapiro, +1 212- 271-3447
shapiron@stifel.com

OurCrowd Media Relations Contact
Estee Yaari, +972 50-200-7072
estee.yaari@ourcrowd.com