Baird's Foundations Program Named a 2021 'LUMINARY' by ThinkAdvisor
MILWAUKEE – Sept. 13, 2021 – Baird’s Private Wealth Management (PWM) Foundations Program was recently recognized as a 2021 LUMINARY: Diversity & Inclusion by ThinkAdvisor. Founded in 2012, Baird’s Foundations Program is a competitive rotational training program for diverse candidates – most coming from different careers – seeking to become financial advisors.
An evolution of ThinkAdvisor’s ‘Broker-Dealers of the Year’ awards, the new LUMINARIES program shines a spotlight on how the top-performing financial industry participants produce meaningful results in Diversity & Inclusion. Members of the Class of 2021 LUMINARIES were selected by a distinguished and diverse panel of judges from across the advice industry, as well by ThinkAdvisor’s editorial team.
Below is an excerpt from the September 2021 issue of ThinkAdvisor where the winners are profiled:
“Baird’s Foundations Program has created more racial, ethnic, age and gender diversity in the firm’s financial advisor talent pool, which has improved overall advisor productivity.”
“Baird’s Foundations program has created countless opportunities since its inception,” said Laura Callahan, Director of PWM Talent at Baird. “I’m so proud of what we’ve built at Baird and eager to see what the future brings.”
“We are thrilled to be recognized by ThinkAdvisor in this noteworthy category,” added Anita Volk, Next-Generation Talent Manager for Baird’s PWM business. “The Foundations program is a positive force in contributing to our firm’s overall business activity and we’re excited to continue strengthening, evolving and growing it.”
During their time in the Foundations Program, Baird associates go through 11 rotations and work alongside key departments that support financial advisors at Baird. As Foundations associates progress to their later rotations, they network with Baird’s private wealth management teams in branches they would like to stay with in the long term. Once matched with a team, the Foundations associate spends three months at that branch to solidify a permanent placement.
“There are bigger firms and there are flashier firms, but there are no firms that value their employees more than Baird. It’s one of the many reasons you don’t see Baird advisors hopping from firm to firm the way so many others do,” commented Gaby Fabre, a graduate of Baird’s Foundation Program and current Financial Advisor in Winnetka, Ill.
Having placed and retained 31 financial advisors from the Foundations Program onto teams at Baird, with 17 of them being diverse associates (either women or ethnically diverse), the program actively contributes to the diversity and success of Financial Advisor teams Baird. Since its inception in 2012, 83 percent of Baird’s Foundations Program graduates remain at Baird today.
Baird’s Private Wealth Management business encompasses more than 1,300 financial advisors serving clients from over 160 locations in 33 states and has client assets of more than $215 billion.
About Baird
Putting clients first since 1919, Baird is an employee-owned, international wealth management, asset management, investment banking/capital markets, and private equity firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Baird has approximately 4,600 associates serving the needs of individual, corporate, institutional and municipal clients and more than $355 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2020. Committed to being a great workplace, Baird ranked No. 32 on the 2021 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list. Baird is the marketing name of Baird Financial Group. Baird’s principal operating subsidiaries are Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated in the United States and Robert W. Baird Group Ltd. in Europe. Baird also has an operating subsidiary in Asia supporting Baird’s investment banking and private equity operations. For more information, please visit Baird’s website at www.rwbaird.com.
For additional information, contact:
Rachel Kern (Berkowitz)
Baird Public Relations
publicrelations@rwbaird.com