Baird snags nine MSSB reps overseeing $1.3B

Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. said today it has hired nine advisers from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC who collectively oversee nearly $1.3 billion in client assets. The advisers now operate from new Baird branches in Fort Worth, Texas, and Charleston, S.C. In the Fort Worth office, the new advisers include W. Paul Davis, Roger L Metz and Craig O. Nicholson — all directors at Baird who will continue to operate as the Nicholson Metz Davis Group. Also working out of the Fort Worth are senior vice president William R. Knight and vice presidents Peter Philpott and Paul R. Robinson. All of the advisers report to Jarrett Kovics, branch manager of the firm’s Dallas office, and they oversee about $920 million in client assets. “By opening a second office in the region with these talented financial professionals, Baird is demonstrating our commitment to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and our continued success attracting top advisers,” Matt Curley, regional director for Baird’s private-wealth-management group, said in a press release. In Charleston, the new Baird branch includes former Morgan Stanley advisers Charles W. “Bucky” Knowlton Jr., Mildred Kitchell and Nicholas L. Verano IV, who made up the Kitchell Verano Group. Together, they oversee about $360 million, Baird said today. This year, Baird has added 47 advisers and branch managers to its ranks, for a total of 650, the firm said today. Baird oversaw $56 billion as of June 30. It has previously announced plans to open new offices in Raleigh, N.C., Portland, Ore., and St. Paul, Minn.