"It is a pretty good recruiting market right now," John Mabee, vice chair of private wealth management at Baird said. "There are a numer firms out there that continue have their issues."
Veteran advisor Fred Gartrell, who was formerly with Charles Schwab, managed $425 million in client assets and joins as a vice president in the Fort Worth, Texas, office.
The Narmi Group, led by Jon Narmi, who joined Lehman brothers in 1983 before joining Citigroup and then Morgan Stanley, oversaw $330 million. Charlie Narmi and Theresa Rynaski also join the Omaha, Neb., office as part of the team.
Charlie Narmi is a 10-year veteran from who joined Citigroup in 2002 before merging with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, according to public records with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Another team, the Belter Schaffler Group, comprised of vice presidents Ken Belter and Will Schaffler, joins Baird in Dallas, Texas. Belter started at Morgan Stanley Dean Whittaker in Purchase, New York, in 2003, and Will Schaffler started with HD Vest in 2004, according to FINRA records. Both come from Citicorp Investment Services where they oversaw $130 million.
In Easton, Md., Jim Vermilye joins as senior vice president. He comes from LPL where he oversaw $85 million in assets.
These seven as well as others were attracted to the firm's employee-owned model, according to Mabee.
"We only talk to [financial advisors] that understand that we run the business like a business," he said. "It’s our money at stake. It goes back to employee ownership. We don’t make outlandish business decisions and hope that things turn out."
Earlier this year, Milwaukee, Wis.-based Baird recently hired advisor R. Parker Griffith, also from Morgan Stanley, to lead an office in Nashville, Tennessee.
The firm expects to continue to hire going forward as veteran advisors approach the firm.
"I wouldn't say it's a push. It's just a continuing constant effort," Mabee said.
The firm has added more than 250 advisors since 2009.
