Baird Expands Muni Management Team

Baird Advisors has hired three municipal specialists as the Milwaukee-based company's institutional fixed-income investment management arm gears up to expand its municipal product line in coming months.

Joining the firm from BMO Global Asset Management are municipal bond portfolio managers Duane McAllister and Erik Schleicher and analyst Joseph Czechowicz, the firm said in a May 19 press release.

The three, with more than 25 years combined experience managing municipal portfolios, is expanding the firm's municipal management team. They officially joined the firm on May 19, and will report to Mary Ellen Stanek, managing director and chief investment officer.

McAllister will be a senior portfolio manager, while Schleicher and Czechowicz will be portfolio managers focused on municipal products.

Stanek said the team complements the firm's risk-controlled approach and will help it continue to capture market share.

"Our team is well positioned in this environment to continue to grow, and the addition of the McAllister team adds additional bench strength to help us serve existing and new clients," she said in the release.

"We have co-existed with them on a number of mutual client relationships and have admired their work for many years," she added.

The firm will continue to offer its existing strategies and funds, but will expand its municipal product offerings with additional municipal strategies, according to the release.

McAllister joined BMO in 2007, where he co-managed of the BMO Intermediate Tax-Free Mutual Fund, the BMO Ultra-Short Tax Free Mutual Fund, and the BMO Short Tax-Free Mutual Fund, as well as managing separate accounts in all three of the tax-free strategies: ultra short, short, and intermediate.

He previously held investment management positions with Wells/Strong Capital Management, AAL Capital Management Co. and Northern Trust Co.

Schleicher was the co-manager of the BMO Short Tax-Free Fund and BMO Ultra Short Tax Free Fund , and managed separate accounts with a short-term objective. He was also previously the fixed income analyst for the BMO Tax-Free Money Market Fund and the BMO Ultra Short Tax Fund. He previously worked at M&I Investment Management Corp, a part of BMO a Global Asset Management, and was also a compliance officer at US Bancorp Funds Services.

Czechowicz began his career with BMO in 2010 after receiving his master's of business degree at the University of Wisconsin's Applied Securities program.

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