Baird Adds $2B Group With 12 Advisors

Baird says that M. Griffith Investments Services — a team with 12 financial advisors and $2 billion in assets — has joined its wealth management business in central New York.

“M. Griffith and its well-respected advisors are known for providing high-quality financial advice and service to clients in central New York and beyond,” according to Baird Private Wealth Management President Mike Schroeder. “We are very excited to build on the firm’s legacy of service, while expanding our presence in the Northeast in a way that makes great sense both strategically and culturally.”

Based in New Hartford, New York, employee-owned M. Griffith is led by David Griffith, who has worked in the business for 49 years after following in the footsteps of his parents, Richard and Margaret.

Baird, also an employee-owned firm, has some 860 total advisors with $200 billion in client asset and is based in Milwaukee. Its operations include equity and fixed income capital markets, and wealth management operations in more than a dozen offices across the Northeast.

“I’d been thinking about the right way to help write M. Griffith’s next chapter for some time,” said David Griffith, in a statement. “I found the answer in Baird, which embodies the same culture and values that have long defined M. Griffith, and is nationally recognized as a best place to work. It’s a great fit for our clients and the M. Griffith team.”

David Griffith will serve as vice chairman of Private Wealth Management at Baird when the transaction is completed.

Earlier this year, Baird tapped John Taft to be vice chairman of the broader company and a member of its executive committee. Taft led RBC Wealth Management from 2005 to 2016 and has about 35 years of industry experience.

Taft also is a past chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and recently worked as a consultant for Deloitte & Touche.

— Check out Best Practices From a 30-Year Veteran: Baird’s Erik Dahlberg on ThinkAdvisor.