2 min read December 2022 — Baird is an employee-owned wealth management, capital markets, asset management and private equity firm headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with branches globally. Invest: spoke with Market Director Karen Heintz at their Minneapolis-St. Paul location to hear about the firm’s sponsorship of local organizations and events, the advantages of being in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region and the local culture and highly diverse work environment.
What has been a highlight or two that stands out over the last year?
Baird has continued a multi-year trend of acquiring other firms with this year’s acquisition of Pittsburgh-based Hefren-Tillotson, which was a significant addition that we are delighted with. When we acquire a firm, it’s strategic in adding capabilities, and not just about headcount.
Another thing we are excited about is that we are the Official Wealth Management Partner of the Professional Pickleball Association. Just like pickleball is more than a paddle and ball, wealth management is more than investing and financial planning. When done right, it’s a relationship between you and a trusted financial partner — someone who understands your priorities and values and has a personal interest in seeing you attain the future you want for yourself and those closest to you. We sponsored two of the national tournaments this year and will continue being the official wealth management partner in 2023. Something fun is that we’ve been doing client events along the tour stops where clients are invited to play and learn from professionals — it’s been a big hit.
How else has Baird actively engaged with the local communities?
We’ve been doing other client events, including one at Young Joni, an award-winning restaurant in the Twin Cities helmed by Ann Kim, a trailblazing chef. At the event, there was a wonderful panel discussion with Ann, Page Knudsen Cowles — a woman winemaker, and one of our senior female leaders about women entrepreneurs in male-dominated industries. There were tons of women clients and centers of influence from the community attending and it was very successful.
How has this latest shift in the market affected the focus of your team?
The market has been difficult with interest rates going up, which impacts bond prices. Prices go down when interest rates go up. That is the first time we have seen this in about 30 years. Also, with high inflation and talk of a potential recession, the stock market has come down, which impacts clients long-term. The key is to have the right asset allocation. If you have the right allocation, you can weather the storm. We just had 12 years of a great bull market. There have been some ups and downs, but it has generally been a great bull market, so it is time for a correction and a pause.
What are some of the factors that contribute to the performance of the company?
We have exceptional leadership across the five different divisions of the firm. We have private wealth management, which is over 50% of the firm. We have the global investment bank, public finance, asset management and Baird Capital, the direct investment arm of the firm. There is outstanding leadership in every area, including our CEO Steve Booth. That is what makes great companies great. We also are employee-owned, which makes us different and unique. At most public firms, you have clients, associates and shareholders. We take one of those completely out of the equation. We only have clients and associates — who are shareholders. That is the secret to the success of Baird across the world.
We have been on Fortune 100’s top companies to work for list every year since 2004. That doesn’t happen by accident, you have to do something intentional to foster a culture like ours.
From a technology standpoint, what gives you and your team an advantage over some of the other private wealth management firms in the country?
Solid technology is a base for every firm. Many of our recruiters have adopted LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and it’s successfully made initial contact with potential recruits. In today’s day and age, embracing more advanced technology is crucial to every aspect of our business.
We’ve also launched a new version of the Baird Online app this year, and we are very excited to bolster our clients’ experience.
What do you feel makes Minneapolis and St. Paul a great place to do business and reside?
We are lucky to have such amazing theater here. Outside of New York, we are the theater mecca of the United States. There’s also the music scene, sports and every outdoor activity that you can imagine. I think because of the cold weather, you have a lot of really great things in a community to draw and keep people here. Once people move here, they realize how amazing it is and they stay. We also have world-class medical and educational institutions. There are a lot of Fortune 500 companies here as well. We are also proud of our Rochester branch, which opened in 2021.
What is your outlook for Baird and the region over the next three to five years?
In Minnesota, Baird will continue to grow and expand our existing footprint. In the next five years, we hope to add at least one more location in the region. In our industry, about 17% of financial advisors are women, but in Minnesota, women make up about 30%. Baird is really on top of diversifying our workforce. I’m very proud of the fact that we have almost double the amount of women advisors in Minnesota compared to the rest of the nation.
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