Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011
REVENUE:
Commissions	$ 125,634	$ 136,855
Principal transactions, net	12,555	10,991
Interest	13,393	14,789
Investment banking	20,087	28,441
Advisory fees	50,077	48,449
Other	16,468	13,892
Total revenue	238,214	253,417
EXPENSES:
Compensation and related expenses	158,651	170,415
Clearing and exchange fees	6,031	6,313
Communications and technology	16,138	15,939
Occupancy and equipment costs	24,344	18,546
Interest	8,792	7,774
Other	30,747	24,601
Total expenses	244,703	243,588
Profit (loss) before income taxes	(6,489)	9,829
Income tax provision (benefit)	(2,606)	4,068
Net profit (loss) for the period	(3,883)	5,761
Less net profit attributable to non-controlling interest, net of tax	(774)	(675)
Net profit (loss) attributable to Oppenheimer Holdings Inc.	$ (4,657)	$ 5,086
Earnings (loss) per share attributable to Oppenheimer Holdings Inc.
Basic	$ (0.34)	$ 0.38
Diluted	$ (0.34)	$ 0.36
Weighted average shares
Basic	13,597,330	13,550,723
Diluted	13,597,330	14,203,413