Baird (investment bank)

Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated

Company type	Private
Industry	Financial Services
Founded	1919
Founder	Robert W. Baird
Headquarters	Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Paul Purcell (Chairman) & (CEO)
Products	Private Wealth Management Equity Capital Markets Private Equity Fixed Income Capital Markets Asset Management
Revenue	US$ 718 million (2009)
Operating income	US$ 62 million (2009)
Total assets	US$ 2.3 billion (2010)
Total equity	US$ 389.5 million (2010)
Number of employees	2,391 (2009)
Website	rwbaird.com

Robert W. Baird & Co. is an international employee-owned financial services firm providing wealth management, capital markets, private equity and asset management services to individuals, corporations, institutional investors and municipalities.

With approximately 2,500 employees, Baird has offices in the United States, Europe and Asia, and is one of the largest privately held, full-service investment firms in the United States. Baird manages and oversees $75 billion in client assets.*

Baird’s principal operating subsidiary outside the United States is Robert W. Baird Group Ltd. in Europe. In Asia, Baird has an operating subsidiary supporting its private equity operations, as well as an investment banking team.

Find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RobertWBairdandCompany

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/rwbaird

Connect with us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/6983?trk=tyah

(*Assets are as of June 30, 2010, based on assets managed and overseen by Baird’s Private Wealth Management, Asset Management and Private Equity businesses.)

History

Baird was founded in 1919 as the investment arm of the First Wisconsin National Bank in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1934, the firm became an independent entity called The Securities Company of Milwaukee, Inc. When the firm joined the New York Stock Exchange in 1948, it took the name of its lead partner since inception, Robert W. Baird.

From 1982 to 2004, Northwestern Mutual Life owned a majority interest in Baird. In 2004, Baird became a fully independent, employee-owned financial services firm. Its headquarters remain in Milwaukee.

Businesses

Baird is organized into five business units: Private Wealth Management, Asset Management, Equity Capital Markets, Fixed Income Capital Markets and Private Equity.

Private Wealth Management (PWM)
Baird Financial Advisors provide financial advice, planning strategies and investment solutions to high-net-worth individual and institutional clients, managing and overseeing more than $57 billion in client assets.*

An in-house team of investment research and other specialists provide clients with services including portfolio management, retirement planning, philanthropic gifting and risk management services. The group also provides retirement plans, stock option exercise programs, hedging strategies and business transition planning to executives and corporate clients.

PWM operates from over 60 branch offices in 21 states across the United States.

Asset Management
Equity and fixed income money managers serve investors including public and private retirement plans, corporations, foundations, other institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals. In 2008, Baird Public Investment Advisors was formed specifically to advise and assist public entities. Together, Baird Advisors, Baird Investment Management and Baird Public Investment Advisors have more than $16.1 billion under management.*

Baird offers mutual funds through Baird Funds, including fixed income mutual funds managed by Baird Advisors and equity mutual funds managed by Baird Investment Management.

Equity Capital Markets
The global investment banking team serves primarily middle-market companies and has advised on M&A transactions and corporate financings totaling $113 billion over the last 10 years. Additionally, equity sales and trading professionals make Baird’s equity research available to institutional investors in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Fixed Income Capital Markets
Baird’s Public Finance group within Fixed Income Capital Markets serves schools, counties, municipalities and other public-sector clients nationwide to finance debt and provide budget advice. Baird was the lead manager for more municipal bond issues in 2009 than any other firm in the country, according to Ipreo MuniAnalytics.

Baird’s Fixed Income Sales & Trading team is active in the primary and secondary markets for taxable and tax-exempt securities. The firm’s trading desks traded $230 billion in face value of bonds for institutional and individual clients in 2009.

Private Equity
Baird Private Equity makes venture capital, growth equity and buyout investment in three specific industry sectors through a series of partnerships in the United States, Europe and Asia. In the United States, Baird Capital Partners makes buyout investments in lower-middle-market companies in the Business Services, Manufactured Products and Healthcare sectors. Baird Venture Partners invests in early-stage and expansion-stage U.S.-based companies in the areas of Business Services and Life Sciences.

Operating in the United Kingdom, Baird Capital Partners Europe provides change-of-control capital to lower-middle-market companies with a particular interest in Business Services, Healthcare and Manufactured Products. Granville Baird, an affiliate of Baird Private Equity, targets middle-market growth companies in Germany.

Baird Capital Partners Asia provides capital to companies with substantial operations and growth opportunities in China.

Baird Private Equity and its affiliates have raised and managed over $2.7 billion in capital and invested in more than 240 companies since the 1980s.

(*All assets are as of June 30, 2010)

Industry achievements

• Baird has been recognized as one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, ranking No. 11 in 2010 [1]

• Named “Manufacturing Sector Adviser of the Year” by Acquisitions Monthly in the UK for 2008, 2009 and 2010 [2]

• Received “Deal of the Year” recognitions from The M&A Advisor (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) [3]

• Honored as advisor of the “Nontraditional Financing Deal of the Year" by The Bond Buyer in 2009 [4]

• In 2010, Baird Capital Partners was named among the top 10 “Consistent Performers” for buyout managers by Private Equity Intelligence Ltd., which analyzed performance since inception for more than 572 funds internationally. [5]

• Baird research analysts have been recognized repeatedly as “Best on the Street” by The Wall Street Journal (since 1993) and as StarMine “Top Equity Analysts” (since 2004). [6]

• Baird Financial Advisors were named among Barron’s “Top 100 Financial Advisers” from 2006–2010, and named among the “Top-ranked Advisor Teams in America” by Research magazine from 2005-2009. [7]

• Baird was ranked No. 34 on Barron’s list of Top Wealth Managers in the United States. Firms are ranked by private banking assets under management based on individual clients with accounts of $5 million or more and $10 million or more. [8]

References and external links

2009 Annual Report

2010 Statement of Financial Condition

Official Web site

Baird careers Web site

Citations

[1]: M. Moskowitz et al. “The 100 Best Companies to Work For.” FORTUNE, February 8, 2010, p. 77.

[2]: “Mid-market stability sought,” Acquisitions Monthly, February 2010.

[3]: 2009 U.S. Middle-Market Financing Awards: http://www.maadvisor.com/page/2009-financing-awards

[4]: Baird-Advised Public Finance Deal Receives “Nontraditional Financing Deal of the Year” Award: http://www.rwbaird.com/ab/news/baird-news/article.aspx?ID=De0V-zldeKFL4U3J-nU-QVf9dlOTl_1VUDoBLDLYsfZac7h0mgiPK8-RCPoR768Sls8vq4AA-4mI1EAJojCsA9Ddb77mNdtEbZjLVsvyj33_D0k9c2ePW0_y69mzK7qzj5cNXNexlN0%3d

[5]: Preqin Top 10 “Consistent Performer” http://www.rwbaird.com/bolimages/Media/PDF/Baird-Private-Equity/preqin-2010-consistent-performers.pdf

[6]: M. Phillips et al. “Best on the Street: 2010 Analysts Survey.” The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2010. p. C9-C18

[7]: S. McGee et al. “The Top 100.” Barron’s, April 19, 2010.

[8]: "Top Wealth Managers in the U.S." Barron’s, September 18, 2010.