Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	[1]	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	[1]
REVENUE
Commissions	$ 90,023	$ 101,243		$ 286,447	$ 314,494
Advisory fees	67,452	69,557		199,582	212,766
Investment banking	20,280	16,548		51,544	72,873
Interest	11,291	13,759		36,340	35,775
Principal transactions, net	4,922	2,309		19,117	14,347
Other	17,836	4,062		45,804	22,357
Total revenue	211,804	207,478		638,834	672,612
EXPENSES
Compensation and related expenses	142,308	139,314		432,524	453,943
Communications and technology	17,201	16,396		52,519	49,775
Occupancy and equipment costs	14,909	16,083		44,796	47,695
Clearing and exchange fees	5,886	6,909		19,006	19,542
Interest	4,687	4,228		14,526	12,103
Other	28,623	27,121		89,859	87,414
Total expenses	213,614	210,051		653,230	670,472
Income (loss) before income taxes from continuing operations	(1,810)	(2,573)		(14,396)	2,140
Income taxes	(751)	(1,437)		(7,190)	1,118
Net income (loss) from continuing operations	(1,059)	(1,136)		(7,206)	1,022
Income from discontinued operations	888	1,046		15,597	8,814
Income taxes	475	687		6,235	3,847
Net income from discontinued operations	413	359		9,362	4,967
Net income (loss)	(646)	(777)		2,156	5,989
Less net income attributable to noncontrolling interest, net of tax	66	131		1,527	883
Net income (loss) attributable to Oppenheimer Holdings Inc.	$ (712)	$ (908)		$ 629	$ 5,106
Basic earnings (loss) per share attributable to Oppenheimer Holdings Inc.
Continuing operations, basic (in dollars per share)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.08)		$ (0.54)	$ 0.07
Discontinued operations, basic (in dollars per share)	0.03	0.01		0.59	0.30
Basic (in dollars per share)	(0.05)	(0.07)		0.05	0.37
Diluted earnings (loss) per share attributable to Oppenheimer Holdings Inc.
Continuing operations, diluted (in dollars per share)	(0.08)	(0.08)		(0.54)	0.07
Discontinued operations, diluted (in dollars per share)	0.03	0.01		0.59	0.29
Diluted (in dollars per share)	(0.05)	(0.07)		0.05	0.36
Dividends declared per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.11	$ 0.11		$ 0.33	$ 0.33
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding
Basic (in shares)	13,366,863	13,690,698		13,371,296	13,713,578
Diluted (in shares)	13,366,863	13,690,698		13,371,296	14,339,205

[1] Amounts have been recast to reflect discontinued operations. See Note 3 for details.