Two More MSSB Advisors Move; Baird Adds Them in Arizona

By Janet Levaux

March 29, 2010 at 08:00 PM

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Baird has added two Morgan Stanley Smith Barney financial advisors: Russ Guard and Jacob Duffy are joining the broker-dealer in its Phoenix-Scottsdale market.

Guard joins as a senior vice president and Duffy as a vice president. Both advisors soon will be serving their clients together as a team, bringing nearly 35 years of combined industry experience to Baird, the company said in a statement.

Carol Frasco, a registered client relationship associate, is also coming on board, and the three wealth-management professionals are working from Baird's Scottsdale office.

Baird now employs 50 associates in the Phoenix – Scottsdale market and operates two office locations. Nationwide, it has 650 FAs. It had $55 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2009.

Baird added more than 100 financial advisors to its Private Wealth Management group in 2009, including a large number of industry veterans. The firm has added 22 FAs since the beginning of 2010.

Beyond adding talent, Baird recently has opened new Private Wealth Management offices in key markets including Winston-Salem, Denver, Sacramento, Calif., and Baltimore and Easton, Md., and recently announced plans to open offices in Charlotte and St. Paul, Minn.