Baird 2024 Annual ReportSTABILITY.
CONSISTENCY.
STRENGTH.
Baird’s Businesses at a Glance
Founded in 1919, Baird is a privately held, employee-owned financial services firm with more than 200 locations aroud the world. 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 REVENUES*
(MILLIONS)
*Financial results do not reflect the consolidation of certain private equity partnerships.
Approximately
80%
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
When you’re an owner, you act differently. You care more about your clients’ experiences and outcomes because you’ve staked your reputation on them. At Baird Private Wealth Management, our employee-ownership structure allows us to think generationally instead of quarterly, to measure what success looks like now but also decades from now. That’s an uncommon approach to wealth management that has helped us achieve success for our clients, our business and our firm.
“As an employee-owned firm, we have the freedom to decide for ourselves how to grow our firm. And we believe the surest path to achieving success is ensuring our clients are well cared for.”
- Erik Dahlberg
President, Private Wealth Management
We Invested in Our Resources
While investors benefited from a strong performance from the stock market in 2024, they also faced planning challenges throughout the year, ranging from elevated inflation to uncertainty surrounding the existing estate and gift tax exemption levels. We helped alleviate those concerns by continuing to leverage the perspectives of Strategas, a Baird Company and highly regarded provider of macroeconomic research, policy insights and investment strategy, to provide clients with context around what’s happening in the markets and broader economy. In 2024 our clients also benefited from 170 specialized experts providing advice on all aspects of wealth management, from tax and estate planning to insurance planning to liquidity and charitable giving solutions. By listening to – and acting on – our clients’ concerns, we’re able to put them in the best position to take advantage of an uncertain environment.
More Than
$
330
BILLION
in Private Wealth Management Client Assets – a 14% Increase Over 2023.
We Emphasized Multigenerational Planning
Wealth management is for families – and because we’re employee-owned, we’re able to focus on our clients’ priorities for the long term as well as today, including what opportunities their wealth can create for their children and grandchildren. We’ve worked with families across multiple generations, and we continue to invest in recruiting the next wave of Financial Advisors and teams to better connect with younger family members. It also allows us to bridge and facilitate important conversations around legacy and the values that get passed down in addition to wealth. We’ve found this inclusive approach to wealth management gives our clients peace of mind that the advice and service they themselves have relied on will continue on for generations.
“Baird has been providing sound financial advice for over a century. We don’t look only to the next quarter or the next market cycle, but to the next generation.”
- Mike Schroeder
Chairman, Private Wealth Management
We Can Continually Adapt Our Business
Our employee-owned structure also allows us to be more nimble, so that the services we provide can continually evolve with our clients. When our clients told us they wanted more planning services, we heard them – and set out to improve how we serve them, including investing in more robust tax and estate planning technology. A key consideration from our merger with Hilliard Lyons in 2019 was the potential to provide our clients with in-house trust services – five years later, client trust assets have more than doubled to more than $23 billion, and employee headcount within the trust has nearly doubled to maintain our reputation for premier service. Listening to our clients and responding to their needs have let us continue to grow our business – in 2024, we’ve built out new teams in Tennessee, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin and opened a new office in Virginia.
The financial decisions a family makes don’t exist in a vacuum – each decision impacts the next and opens up entirely new sets of possibilities. Employee ownership lets us respond to our clients’ challenges with robust resources, personalized advice and a genuine interest in their success.
Asset Management
“It’s not about getting bigger. It’s about getting better.”
- Mary Ellen Stanek
Chief Investment Officer Emeritus - Baird Advisors
Baird has a demonstrated commitment to and tradition of excellence in asset management. Baird Advisors and Baird Equity Asset Management actively manage fixed income and equity strategies for institutional and individual investors and also manage the Baird Funds, a no-load fund family with proven track records and competitive pricing.
In an election year characterized by economic uncertainty and market volatility, both of Baird’s asset management businesses delivered competitive performance and saw strong growth in assets under management. Our emphasis on quality in our portfolios, focus on risk control and dedication to exceptional service continued to resonate with investors.
$
170
BILLION
in Assets Under Management
(Fixed Income & Equity Combined)
Knowing that remarkable people and their passion for what they do make all of this possible, Baird was honored to be recognized among Pensions & Investments’ Best Places to Work in Money Management (for the 13th consecutive year) and as one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® (for the 21st consecutive year). We see this recognition as affirmation of our strong culture which enables Baird to attract and retain top talent, helping to ensure the consistency and continuity clients value.
Baird Advisors
The bond market showed signs of returning to some semblance of normalcy in 2024 and the advantages of Baird Advisors’ consistent, duration-neutral approach continued to provide the above-benchmark returns that clients – whose relationships with Baird exceed 15 years on average – rely on.
Baird Advisors’ dependable performance earned the team numerous industry accolades throughout the year, beginning with a second consecutive award from LSEG Lipper for the Strategic Municipal Bond Fund in March.1 Numerous recognitions from Morningstar followed, including “The Best Funds for Rebalancing in 2024” in May, “The Best Bond Funds” and “The Best Short-Term Bond Funds” in June, and “The Thrilling 36,” which recognized five Baird bond funds in August.2
Consistent performance, team stability and unwavering client focus drove the growth of Baird Advisors’ assets under management by more than $27 billion to a total of $159.1 billion at the end of the year.
The team, which will mark its 25th year at Baird in 2025, continues to selectively add both seasoned and up-and-coming professionals to complement the significant experience and tenure of its leaders – many of whom have worked together for decades. This strategic growth is an extension of the team’s focus on integrity and continuity to ensure the long-term quality of performance and service for clients.
In line with this philosophy, Baird Advisors emphasizes professional growth and development - the number of CFA designations on the team increased to 33 in 2024 – and continues to invest in the technology and operations expertise necessary to best serve clients.
|
33 |
CHARTERED FINANCIAL ANALYSTS® |
13 YEARS
ON PENSIONS & INVESTMENTS’
“BEST PLACES TO WORK IN MONEY MANAGEMENT” LIST
Baird Equity Asset Management
Baird Equity Asset Management reached a new high-water mark of $10.9 billion in assets under management given a strong equity market and inflows from Specialized Asset Management and Chautauqua.
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.
Baird’s Specialized Asset Management team (SAM) works closely with Baird’s Financial Advisors to meet the investment needs of families and individuals and continued to grow relationships within Baird’s Private Wealth Management business. Advisor and client appreciation for the team’s transparent, customizable and tax-efficient solutions helped grow assets under management to more than $6 billion by the end of the year. The SAM team works with 1 in 4 Baird Financial Advisors.
Baird’s U.S. Growth team remains steadfast in its high-quality philosophy and process that has served clients well across changing market cycles for more than three decades. The experienced team focuses on fundamentally sound businesses possessing solid revenue growth and stronger margins and balance sheets than peers. Risk control is an important part of the investment process, helping deliver better risk adjusted returns over time.
Chautauqua Capital Management, Baird’s International and Global Growth team, manages equity portfolios and funds. As macro dynamics shifted throughout the year, the team continued to focus on the long term. Their portfolios prioritize businesses aligned with secular trends with strong market positions and sustainable competitive advantages. The team’s conviction in the quality of their holdings and avoidance of sweeping investment changes based on geopolitical factors contributed to strong performance. The Baird Chautauqua International Growth Fund received a 5-star Morningstar Overall Rating™ as of December 31, 2024.3 The team has also experienced solid asset inflows, and the international fund crossed $1 billion in assets in 2024.
1See “Additional Disclosures” for details on LSEG Lipper methodology.
2For more information about these recognitions, see bairdassetmanagement.com/news-insights/.
3©2025 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. Morningstar individual fund ratings are as of December 31, 2024. All ratings are representative of the Institutional share class. See "Additional Disclosures" below for important information about Morningstar ratings.
Fixed Income Capital Markets
For more than 100 years, Baird’s Fixed Income Capital Markets business has helped clients access funding and liquidity through the fixed income bond market. Our Fixed Income Capital Markets business is a full-service platform comprising dedicated bankers, salespersons, traders, underwriters and analytical professionals serving the needs of corporations, financial institutions, municipalities, states and governmental agencies. We maintain strong institutional relationships allowing for diverse coverage across all tiers of investors.
The advice and service we provide were in much demand in 2024, an election year that saw strong equity performance but also the first interest rate cut in four years. These signals left many bond investors uncertain of how best to navigate the market’s ups and downs. With an unwavering focus on our clients, we were able to help clients manage economic volatility and make the most of the opportunities the market presented..
Public Finance
We’ve continued to build out our Public Finance business, providing the deep expertise, broad distribution network and intimate understanding of our clients’ needs to help them effectively manage the current economic landscape. In 2024 we expanded our team of public finance experts, which included adding experienced school professionals in Wisconsin and Kentucky. We also opened a new Public Finance office in California with a concentrated focus on serving California K–12 schools. Nationwide, our 80 Public Finance professionals serve their clients from 19 offices in 14 states. We attribute our growth to our robust, long-standing platform that allows our bankers to serve their clients at the highest level.
The successes we’ve created for our clients have led to numerous top industry rankings.
- No. 1 underwriter nationally, based on number of issues1
- No. 1 charter school underwriter nationally based on number of issues and par amount2
- No. 1 advisor of Texas special district issues, based on number of issues and par amount1
- No. 2 K–12 underwriter nationally by number of issues1
- Top 5 advisor nationally by number of issues1
Over the past 10 years, Baird has
expanded its Public Finance headcount
by more than 30%.
Sales & Trading
We’ve also grown the capabilities of our Sales & Trading platform to meet the needs of our institutional fixed income clients. Our Sales & Trading team comprises nearly 130 institutional salespersons, traders, underwriters and analytical professionals in four distinct areas: corporate credit, government and agency, municipals and securitized products. We’ve continued to add top talent and expertise to further build out our services in these areas, including adding an industry veteran with a focus on new issue origination and capital solutions financing for securitized products, while also developing and promoting our team from within.
“As an employee-owned firm, we’re actively focused on growth and adding high-quality individuals to our platform who emanate Baird’s culture. That approach allows us to achieve great things as a group and a company and provide the best execution for our clients.”
- Stephanie Warren
Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer
Fixed Income Capital Markets
1S&P Muni Deal Query as of December 31, 2024. Does not include Private Placements or Notes.
2LSEG as of December 31, 2024. Does not include Private Placements or Notes.
Equity Capital Markets
209
Advisory and Financing Transactions Completed
Global Investment Banking
Baird’s Global Investment Banking business provides advisory and financing services that help clients around the world achieve their vision for their businesses. Throughout the M&A and equity financing market headwinds of the past two years, we continued to invest in our platform and our team, which positioned us to be ready to partner with new and returning clients in 2024 as they pursued their unique objectives. Our global team completed 209 advisory and financing transactions with a combined value of $84.3 billion, achieving our second-best year ever in 2024 and heading into 2025 with a robust backlog of assignments.
We attribute our 2024 results to the differentiated approach that we take during market downturns. Unlike many of our peers, we see opportunity in the turbulence. As a part of being a privately held and employee-owned firm, we can look to the long term, act on behalf of our clients and invest in exceptional expertise and talent. Throughout 2024 and early 2025, we welcomed 10 Managing Directors and Directors, among other professionals, that specialize in key verticals such as aerospace; beauty & wellness; distribution; household products; multiunit, restaurants and franchising; and software.
In addition to deepening our industry coverage, we also invested in our geographic and product expertise. We continued to expand our presence in Europe by hiring several senior bankers based in London. In addition to their deep knowledge of the European markets, they bring extensive knowledge of key industries, the global financial sponsors community and debt advisory to our platform. Our General Partner (GP) Solutions Group, which provides highly customized advice to private equity clients, generated strong momentum. Formed in 2023, the group completed multiple transactions during 2024 and is well-positioned to continue providing expertise to clients pursuing transactions involving continuation vehicles and related deals.
Our focus on maintaining and thoughtfully growing our team underpins our 2024 results. As we look to the future, we are incredibly confident in our global platform and the ability to deliver results for our clients.
Global Equities
The equities markets created numerous opportunities in 2024. Our Global Equities team remained focused on serving as a value-added partner to our institutional clients to help them take advantage of these opportunities while pursuing their own investment objectives. Throughout 2024, we delivered high-quality research, insights, execution and service that our clients seek and have come to expect from Baird.
We maintained our commitment to enhancing our equities capabilities and expertise. We welcomed senior talent across our platform. Today, our team includes more than 260 research, sales, trading and support colleagues, including over 100 Equity Research analysts. Our individual stock research of 730 companies provides a broad perspective to our clients and a strong foundation for our corporate clients’ equity issuance needs. The team’s macroeconomic research is offered by Strategas, a Baird Company. Strategas has been recognized in Extel’s All-America Research Team Survey and remains, for the 8th consecutive year, the top macro-only research firm on Wall Street as ranked by Extel, preceded only by providers of both macro and bottom-up research.1
Additionally, we continued to organize a host of industry-focused events to bring together company management teams, subject matter experts and investors. Baird’s institutional investor conferences drew strong attendance from presenting companies and institutional investors across the government policy, macroeconomic strategy, industrial, consumer, technology & services, and healthcare sectors. All told, during 2024 we arranged more than 23,000 company-investor connections through 1x1 meetings at Baird conferences, non-deal roadshows and other events.
1As of June 3, 2024. See “Additional Disclosures” below for details on Extel’s methodology.
Principal Investments
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
Baird Capital invests in business-to-business technology services companies worldwide via two investment platforms: Global Private Equity and Venture Capital. We focus on investing in subsectors where we have the industry knowledge, investment experience and operating capabilities to help our portfolio companies grow and thrive. Our 40 investment, operating and support professionals work as one team to support our portfolio companies. Throughout 2024, we deployed $27 million of new and follow-on capital and returned $200 million in distributions to our investors. As of year-end, our active portfolio companies had combined annual revenues of $2.1 billion and more than 15,000 employees.
$
1. 2
BILLION
Active Assets Under Management1
Global Private Equity
Our Global Private Equity team took a proactive approach to managing against the market headwinds of the past few years. From our locations across the U.S. and Europe, we work as one integrated team to support our portfolio’s business aspirations as well as drive value for our investors.
This approach underpinned the team’s high level of investment activity throughout the year. We exited our investments in ecube, the world’s leading end-of-life aircraft service provider, and Subsea Technology & Rentals, a leading global subsea sensor equipment and solutions provider to the offshore energy, infrastructure and marine science markets. We also supported the growth of our portfolio through three add-on acquisitions during the year.
Shortly after year-end, the team announced a new investment in Newmarket Strategy, an independent life sciences consultancy and market access specialist. As we look to the future, our investment opportunity pipeline is strong and we are optimistic about the opportunities ahead for our platform.
Venture Capital
Following a few challenging years for venture investing, our Venture Capital team saw an active year following the December 2023 final close of Baird Capital Venture Partners VI with a total of $218 million in committed capital. We completed two new investments: BlackCloak, a digital protection platform that provides holistic cybersecurity and privacy protection for high-profile individuals, executives and their families from threats outside the office and in their personal lives; and ModelOp, a leading AI governance software for enterprises.
The team also supported the growth of our portfolio through an add-on acquisition during 2024. In early 2025, we announced the exit of our investment in Upfront Healthcare, a next-generation patient engagement platform provider. We have strong momentum and see exciting opportunity ahead.
1Baird Capital only.
