Hilliard Lyons to merge with Baird

February 12, 2019 | 3:22 am

Updated February 11, 2019 | 10:24 pm

Graphic by Owensboro Times

One of the nation’s oldest investment firms, Hilliard Lyons has an agreement to join Baird Wealth Management in a transaction that is expected to close by the end of April. Headquartered in Louisville, Ky., with more than 1,000 employees across 11 states, Hilliard Lyons has local offices at 1035 Frederica Street. The agreement with Baird is expected to include retaining all local employees as well as the historic location.

Senior Vice President Mitch Settle began his career with Hilliard Lyons in 1986. In his 30 years as a wealth advisor, he has been named one of the “Top 1,200 Financial Advisors” on a national level in Barron’s magazine and one of the “Top 3 Financial Advisors in Kentucky.” Settle views the merger as a positive one with many similarities in firms.

“We have a long-standing industry relationship in which we admire and respect them for what they’ve built,” Settle said. “Their client-first culture, their leadership, the care they show for their employees, their long history of growth and success and obviously their wealth management focus.”

Baird, whose headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wis., has been named one of Fortune magazine’s Top 100 best companies to work for for 15 consecutive years. Most recently the firm was ranked 12th in a 2018 report.

“I’m excited about the opportunity for Owensboro and our community, especially on the philanthropic side of things as Baird gives a substantial amount back into their community locations,” Settle said. “Baird is also committed to staying privately shareholder owned. Seventy-five perfect of their employees are shareholders of the firm.”

With any merger, changes will come, but the local team views those changes in a positive light for both the employees and their clients.

“I think the biggest changes our clients are going to see are from a technology standpoint. Their technology is second to none,” Settle said. “My team is excited. There is a lot of trust and respect for Baird.”

Local Hilliard Lyons Wealth Associate Shannon Raines agreed with Settle’s perspective, citing technology and research as the key benefits to this merger for her company.

“The breadth of research that they offer is leaps and bounds larger. We have resources for research currently, but that will increase and benefit both us as wealth advisors and our clients,” Raines said. “Their online experience will be better and I think it’s  important to note were not merging into a publicly traded company so the decisions are still made locally.”

A smooth transition is expected with local clients not expecting to see changes until the fourth quarter when the offices will convert to Baird computer systems and technology.

For more information on Hilliard Lyons or Baird visit: https://hilliard.com/wealth-advisors/KY/owensboro#1296 or http://www.rwbaird.com/locations

February 12, 2019 | 3:22 am

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