Baird Funds increased the number of municipal bond mutual funds it offers to three with the addition of two funds that focus on short and intermediate maturity securities.
The Baird Short-Term Municipal Bond Fund and the Baird Core Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund will join the existing Baird Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund in its municipal lineup, according to a press release Tuesday from the Milwaukee-based fixed income and equity fund family.
The pair of new funds will invest in municipal bonds -- principally investment grade obligations -- that offer federal tax exemption.
As part of the planned product expansion, the existing Baird Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund will be renamed the Baird Quality Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund in order to stress its high-quality focus, according to Mary Ellen Stanek, managing director and chief investment officer of Baird Asset Management in the release.
In addition, its benchmark has been updated to the Barclay's Quality Intermediate Municipal Bond index, which "more closely aligns with the fund's portfolio composition," according to Stanek.
"We are pleased to expand our municipal lineup with two funds that provide additional choices for investors while still maintaining our quality investment focus," Stanek said in the release. "While we will maintain our super high-quality approach with the Baird Quality Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund, the two new funds will have the latitude to invest in a wider array of municipal securities."
The new funds will be co-managed by Duane McAllister, a senior portfolio manager, and portfolio managers Erik Schleicher, and Joseph Czechowicz, who joined the firm in May from BMO Global Asset Management, as part of a planned growth spurt for the municipal fund product line.
The team, which reports to Stanek, has more than 25 years of combined experienced managing municipal portfolios and its addition was key in complementing the firm's risk-controlled approach, capturing market share, and serving new and existing clients, Stanek said in May.
