Baird Hires Morgan Stanley Exec as New Regional Director

Baird said Tuesday that it hired Steven W. Stroker, formerly of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, as a regional director for its branches in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and most of Illinois. At Morgan Stanley, Stroker oversaw 220 advisors in 10 branches with about $17 billion in client assets.  He has been in the industry for 28 years.

“We are very pleased to welcome Steve to Baird,” said Michael J. Schroeder (left) president of Baird’s Private Wealth Management group, in a press release. “His significant industry experience and high integrity will make him an excellent addition to our Private Wealth Management leadership team, and an asset to the branch managers and financial advisors whom he will support.”

Baird’s private-wealth group also announced the following changes to its management team on Tuesday:

• John Mabee, managing director, has been named vice chairman of the group and will focus on recruiting and retaining advisors;
• Matthew S. Curley, managing director, has been named national sales director and chief operating officer;
• William (Bill) T. Johnson, senior vice president, has been promoted to regional director of the eastern region of the country, which includes offices in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia; and
• Kimberly Thekan has been promoted to senior vice president of talent acquisition and integration.

“Baird Private Wealth Management has experienced tremendous growth over the past three years,” Schroeder said, in a statement. “We have added nearly 250 new advisors and branch managers since the beginning of 2008, opened 18 new branch locations, and now manage more than $66 billion in client assets.”

In early May, Baird announced that David Marshall and Gavin Amato joined the employee-owned firm from Morgan Stanley and will serve clients as the Marshall–Amato Group in Baird’s Portland office.

Prior to joining Baird, Marshall, Amato and their associates worked at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and predecessor firms Smith Barney, Shearson Lehman Brothers and E. F. Hutton, as well as at Merrill Lynch.

The team has overseen about $400 million in client assets and generates roughly $1.1 million in yearly revenue.

As of March 31, Morgan Stanley said it had 17,800 advisors worldwide. The current Morgan Stanley Smith Barney FA headcount is down about 2%, or by 340 reps, from last year; it fell roughly 1%, or by 243 reps, from the prior quarter.