The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Stifel Nicolaus on August 10, 2011, claiming the firm duped five Wisconsin school districts into buying $200 million in "unsuitable" securities tied to collateralized debt obligations. The investments, which the school districts had purchased in 2006 with $163 million in borrowed funds and $37 million of their own money, were "far more risky" than Stifel Nicolaus advertised to the school districts, the S.E.C.
On August 10, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Stifel Nicolaus for allegedly misleading five Wisconsin school districts into investing $200 million in "unsuitable" securities linked to collateralized debt obligations. The investments, which were made by the school districts with $163 million in borrowed funds and $37 million of their own money in 2006, were considered "highly risky" compared to what Stifel Nicolaus had informed the school districts, as stated by the S.E.C.