2023 Baird Annual Report GLOBAL EXPERTISE
WITH A FOCUS ON YOU
Baird's Businesses at a Glance
Founded in 1919, Baird is a privately held, employee-owned financial services firm with more than 200 locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. Our strategic focus in five cyclical and counter-cyclical businesses diversifies and balances our revenues and helps ensure the continuity of our advice across market cycles.
BAIRD NET REVENUES1
(MILLIONS)
78%
OF BAIRD ASSOCIATES
ARE SHAREHOLDERS
More than three-quarters of our associates representing all areas of the firm are Baird shareholders and share a personal stake in the outcomes we achieve for our clients around the world.
Private Wealth Management
Private Wealth Management’s premier investment and planning capabilities help our clients navigate today’s volatile economic environment while building wealth to support generations to come.
Every year has its own financial challenges – and 2023 was certainly no exception. Elevated interest rates, geopolitical conflict and a persistent specter of recession dominated the headlines, causing investors everywhere to question if the financial decisions they made every day brought them closer to their goals or pushed them further away. But amid that uncertainty, that’s where we demonstrate our strength: Our intimate relationships with our clients allow us to deliver the right advice and resources at the right time – so they can remain assured about what’s important to them no matter how their future unfolds.
100+
FINANCIAL PLANNERS
COLLABORATING ON CLIENT SOLUTIONS
It all starts with planning. The progression of our lives can be charted as a series of major decisions – some financial, some personal – with each one unlocking a set of entirely new questions. From choosing a career to starting a family to deciding where to retire, these choices and thousands of others can each carry tremendous financial importance.
Our close relationship with clients allows us to translate those decisions into smart financial strategies – into a plan. And as the scope of that plan grows and evolves over time, we remain in lockstep, providing new alternatives and ensuring that no matter how a client's life or the macro environment might change, they can be confident their plans are still working toward what's most important.
Importantly, as our clients’ lives and finances become increasingly complex, we continue to invest in the best-in-class resources so we can offer the exact planning expertise they need. In 2023 we increased the number of financial planners who customize financial solutions for our clients and built out the solutions and services we were able to offer in platforms like Baird Trust and Business Owner Solutions. We also made significant investments in our technology, allowing us to provide additional services in tax and estate planning. Resources like these, in addition to the insights offered by our Financial Advisors, ensure planning decisions are based on information that’s both current and comprehensive.
$290+
BILLION
PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT
ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT
“The relationship between the Financial Advisor and the client is incredibly special. Our counsel and expertise are always present, through marriage and divorce, the birth of a child or death of a parent, and carry through across generations. It truly is one of the most important and long-lasting relationships in our clients’ lives, and everything we offer – the guidance, the expertise, the service – is in support of that sacred bond.”
– Erik Dahlberg, President of Private Wealth Management
But planning and resources are only as useful as the commitment from a Financial Advisor invested in their clients' success. When your employees own the firm, they behave differently: They care more and have a genuine personal stake in their clients' satisfaction and peace of mind. That means phone calls are returned more promptly. Advisors spend more time providing the care and attention our clients feel in everything we do – and the kind of service they can’t find just anywhere.
While our clients often face similar obstacles and opportunities, no two situations are the same. They choose Baird because we spend the time to get to know them, their values and their dreams, and design a plan tailored to their needs. In 2023, Baird's Financial Advisors helped their clients be more confident in their financial decisions and that the plans we made together will serve their families well for generations to come.
We'll continue to invest to be one step ahead, making sure our clients are well-prepared for whatever might come their way.
1Financial results do not reflect the consolidation of certain private equity partnerships.
Asset Management
Baird Advisors and Baird Equity Asset Management actively managed fixed income and equity strategies for institutional and individual investors as well as the Baird Funds, a no-load fund family with proven track records and competitive pricing.
Our fixed income and equity teams emerged from a turbulent 2022 with distinct advantages – a shared focus on quality in their portfolios, emphasis on mitigating risk and unwavering commitment to exceptional service. These traits continued to resonate with investors, despite broader market volatility throughout 2023, resulting in competitive performance and consistent inflows to both our fixed income and equity mutual funds.
Reflecting both teams’ passion for what they do, Baird was honored for a 12th consecutive year among Pensions & Investments’ Best Places to Work in Money Management – one of only five companies to have appeared on the list every year since its introduction in 2012.
$140+
BILLION
ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT
(FIXED INCOME & EQUITY COMBINED)
“Market volatility often provides opportunities for the team to add additional value to our bond portfolios – our team really shined in 2023. We remain laser-like focused on managing the level of risk in our portfolios and striving to deliver consistent, competitive performance.”
– Mary Ellen Stanek, CFA
President of Baird Funds & Co-Chief Investment Officer of Baird Advisors
BAIRD ADVISORS
Continuing a long tradition of excellence in fixed income asset management, Baird Advisors’ taxable and tax-exempt funds were recognized repeatedly by industry publications for quality and performance in 2023, including Morningstar’s “Thrilling 30,” “Best Bond Funds” and “5 Short-Term Bond Funds That Consistently Deliver.”2 The Baird Strategic Municipal Bond Fund was named “Best Fund Over 3-Years” among 23 short-intermediate municipal debt funds by Refinitiv Lipper (marking the team's fourth Lipper Award in four years) and was featured in Barron’s.
Baird Advisors’ long-term, duration-neutral approach weathered the changing interest rate environment well, providing above-benchmark returns and the risk control long-time clients have come to rely on. Thanks to client asset growth and positive inflows in every month of the year, Baird Advisors’ assets under management grew by more than $19 billion to a total of $131.5 billion at the end of 2023.
Knowing that the best insights and outcomes result when people with different perspectives and backgrounds collaborate with common objectives, Baird Advisors supplemented its deeply experienced management team – many of whom have worked together since before the team’s inception in 2000 – with investments in emerging talent to help ensure quality and continuity for clients in years to come. Thirty-two of Baird Advisors' 76 associates are CFAs and 20% are former interns – the team continues to cultivate future talent through active involvement with programs like All-In Milwaukee and schools like Cristo Rey.
|
32 |
CHARTERED |
BAIRD EQUITY ASSET MANAGEMENT
Baird Equity Asset Management saw strong net inflows of $1.3 billion for the year despite significant equity market headwinds. Assets under management by year end had grown to $10.7 billion.
The individual teams within Baird Equity Asset Management operate with independence and autonomy, but are unified by their long-term perspective, focus on quality and deep experience within their focused areas of the market.
12 YEARS
ON PENSIONS & INVESTMENTS'
“BEST PLACES TO WORK IN MONEY MANAGEMENT” LIST
Baird’s U.S. Growth team, which manages small/mid and mid-cap growth strategies and mutual funds, continued its record of competitive long-term performance and demonstrated the value of their approach in challenging market environments. The flagship Mid Cap Growth Fund celebrated its 30th anniversary among Morningstar’s “Top-Rated Stock Funds” in July and the Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund marked its fifth year of solid returns since inception.2
Chautauqua Capital Management, Baird’s International and Global Growth team, manages equity portfolios and funds. The team continued to apply its unique investment philosophy and rigorous process in evaluating opportunities amid a particularly strained geopolitical backdrop and inflationary environment.
Baird’s Specialized Asset Management team works closely with Baird’s Financial Advisors (one in four in 2023) to meet the investment needs of families and individuals and continued to grow relationships within Baird’s Private Wealth Management business. Assets under management grew to more than $4.9 billion by the end of the year.
1Financial results do not reflect the consolidation of certain private equity partnerships.
2©2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Fixed Income Capital Markets
NO. 1
MUNICIPAL UNDERWRITER
IN THE U.S.2
Our Fixed Income Capital Markets business has grown tremendously since our founding in 1919 as a Milwaukee bond house. Today, our Public Finance team provides municipal issuers with award-winning advisory as well as underwriting, placement agent and consulting services, while our Sales & Trading professionals research, sell and trade a full range of fixed income securities for institutional investors.
The continued escalation – and extended pause – of interest rates in 2023 added a new level of complexity to how issuers financed their funding needs as well as increased scrutiny of the role bonds can play in institutional portfolios. Throughout it all, Baird provided unparalleled guidance, capabilities and personal service to help our clients weather economic volatility.
PUBLIC FINANCE
We’ve continued to grow our Public Finance expertise with the services our clients need to navigate the current economic environment. Our 79 Public Finance professionals now serve their clients from 19 offices in the U.S.
Our deep knowledge of the industry and unwavering client focus were acknowledged by The Bond Buyer, who awarded a Baird transaction with the Greater Texoma Utility Authority “Deal of the Year” in 2023. This award – our seventh such honor since 2005 – is a testament to our client-centric focus and our passion for what we do.
SALES & TRADING
We’ve also grown our Sales & Trading platform to meet the needs of our institutional fixed income clients. This team offers objective bond research, precise trade execution and a full range of fixed income products in high-yield and investment-grade corporate credit, government and agency, municipal and securitized products. With the addition of nearly 20 research, sales and trading professionals in 2023 – including our first London team, specializing in collateralized loan obligations and structured products – we now employ more than 140 traders, salespeople and analysts delivering high-end capabilities as well as specialized services like balance sheet evaluation and securitized product analysis. In 2023 our Sales & Trading platform averaged $16.3 billion in monthly trading volume.
$202.7
MILLION
FIXED INCOME CAPITAL MARKETS REVENUES
1Financial results do not reflect the consolidation of certain private equity partnerships.
2Source: Ipreo MuniAnalytics as of December 31, 2023. Does not include Private Placements or Notes.
Equity Capital Markets
GLOBAL INVESTMENT BANKING
In a year of market headwinds that challenged deal activity, our Global Investment Banking group focused on delivering creative advisory and financing services to clients around the world. All told, our global team completed 141 advisory and financing transactions with a combined value of $55 billion.
Despite the year’s challenging transaction environment, our team found ways to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients. We completed our largest European M&A transaction to date and partnered with a number of leading companies, guiding them through the challenging market to achieve great outcomes. While many of our investment banking peer firms felt pressure to lay off staff and turn inward, our global team stayed intact, worked more closely and remained focused as ever on our clients, providing excellent execution and finding creative solutions to pursue their top opportunities.
BUILDING FOR THE LONG TERM
As a privately held, employee-owned firm, Baird is able to think and act for the long term. This enables us to put our clients’ interests first in all we do, including how we build our platform. We continued to build out our team by welcoming exceptional senior bankers in 2023. They bring deep, additive experience and expertise in key industry verticals, Europe and M&A advisory. We also expanded our General Partner Solutions practice. Launched at the end of 2022, this new offering enhances and expands the advisory services we provide to private equity clients.
NEARLY
100
BANKERS
ADDED IN 2023
Additionally, we welcomed a new Co-Head of Global M&A to complement the continued expansion of our M&A capabilities, particularly in Europe. We deepened our investment in our European capabilities by forming an alliance with Arcano, a leading M&A advisory firm in Spain and Portugal. The alliance enhances our M&A offerings in southern Europe.
In addition to welcoming new colleagues to our platform throughout the year, we also focused on supporting and developing our existing team. While other investment banking firms reduced headcount and experienced significant turnover, retention of Baird banking talent is strong. We remain committed to establishing Baird as a destination employer for our industry and fostering a diverse, inclusive environment that allows our team to thrive. We operate as one global team, 400+ bankers strong, on a single profit-and-loss statement. This structure helps create a truly unique culture of teamwork at Baird and enhances the service and outcomes we deliver to our clients.
GLOBAL EQUITIES
Our Global Equities team focused on serving as a trusted equities partner to our clients in the challenging markets throughout 2023. We stayed close to our clients during the year, keeping in constant contact and delivering the content, insights, service and execution clients have come to rely on Baird for in all market environments. Our team created opportunities for clients to connect with leading companies, hosting nearly 20,000 meetings throughout the year, including strong attendance at our institutional investor conferences.
We also continued to enhance our equities platform. To deepen our institutional trading offering, we continued to invest in our distribution and execution capabilities. We also strengthened our healthcare and technology equity research platforms. Our Equity Research team, which includes more than 80 analysts, covered more than 710 companies at year end. Their insights are complemented by the macroeconomic research offered by Strategas, a Baird Company, which was recognized by Institutional Investor as the No. 1 macro-only research firm for the seventh consecutive year.
We’re also pleased to report our global equities team earned strong recognition from industry investors in the 2023 Coalition Greenwich survey.2 Baird ranked No. 1 for best trading for small-/mid-cap equities, among other strong rankings in research, sales and corporate access.
1Financial results do not reflect the consolidation of certain private equity partnerships.
2Coalition Greenwich's 2023 surveys of North American Equity Investors. Surveys conducted with 95 small-cap and mid-cap fund managers and 235 traders. Rankings for qualitative metrics based on leading research firms in surveys.
GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL CONFERENCE
Baird’s 53rd annual Global Industrial Conference in Chicago provided institutional investors from around the world the opportunity to connect with senior executives from nearly 300 leading public and private corporations. Guests had access to formal presentations, breakout sessions and 1-on-1 meetings.
Principal Investments
$1.3 BILLION
ACTIVE ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT2
Baird’s Principal Investments group consists of three units with their own investment strategies:
1
BAIRD CAPITAL
Baird Capital makes direct investments through proprietary funds in emerging and lower middle-market companies. Since 1989, Baird Capital has raised and invested capital in high-potential companies through a series of private equity and venture capital partnerships. Baird is a meaningful investor in the Baird Capital funds, whose other investors include third-party institutions, high-net-worth clients and qualified Baird associates.
2
BAIRD PRINCIPAL GROUP
Baird Principal Group makes minority co-investments in middle-market private companies.
3
STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS
Strategic Investments makes equity investments in third-party financial services entities that complement Baird’s capabilities and strategic limited partner investments in third-party funds.
ABOUT BAIRD CAPITAL
Our global platform, focused on business-to-business technology and services investments, allows us to leverage our knowledge, capital and resources on behalf of our clients. Altogether, Baird Capital has 40 investment, operating and support professionals in the United States, United Kingdom and Asia managing active portfolio companies with combined annual revenues of $2 billion and more than 15,000 employees.
Baird Capital is also proud to be a signatory of the Institutional Limited Partners Associated (ILPA) initiative to advance diversity, equity and inclusion across our industry.
GLOBAL PRIVATE EQUITY
The Global Private Equity team saw an active year, completing two new platform investments: JMAN, an international commercially focused data consultancy headquartered in London and Chennai, India; and Freemarket, a leading fintech platform for regulated business-to-business cross-border payments and currency exchange headquartered in London.
The team also exited its investments in bfinance and CAV Systems. Baird Capital invested in bfinance, a global investment consultancy, in 2016. Throughout our investment period, bfinance’s revenues more than doubled. We invested in CAV Systems, a supplier of airborne ice protection systems and drag reduction technology for aircraft, in 2017.
Throughout the partnership, Baird Capital supported the business with implementing commercial and operational improvements to its sales and marketing strategy and upgrading the business infrastructure to improve manufacturing efficiency, laying the foundations for growth and enabling the business to secure new OEM opportunities.
One of the Global Fund’s key pillars is to support companies in global expansion, and this year was no exception with multiple portfolio companies completing strategic partnerships, acquisitions, and setting up operations in new markets.
VENTURE CAPITAL
In December 2023, the Venture Capital team announced the final close of Baird Capital Venture Partners VI, its sixth venture fund, with a total of $218 million in committed capital, exceeding the size of its previous funds. The fund is anchored by investments from a number of returning and new institutions, foundations and family offices, a significant achievement and fitting capstone to the first 20 years of Baird Capital's venture investing.
This year, the team completed two new investments: Parallax, a leading provider of predictive forecasting and capacity planning software, headquartered in Minneapolis; and Osano, a leader in data privacy software, headquartered in Austin. They also supported the growth of our portfolio through 13 follow-on investments in 2023.
1Financial results do not reflect the consolidation of certain private equity partnerships.
2Baird Capital only
