Mary Ellen Stanek and her team are celebrating a wood anniversary for a $1.7857-billion-AUM duo. They're also adding another PM to the group that runs those two funds.

Mary Ellen Bolger Stanek Robert W. Baird & Co. Managing Director, Director of Asset Management

Last month, the Baird Municipal Bond Fund and the Baird Strategic Municipal Bond Fund both gained their five-year track record, often a key milestone for a fund's distribution prospects (as some advisors and consultants and screening tools automatically exclude or penalize funds that aren't yet five years old). Mary Ellen Stanek, founder and managing director of Baird Asset Management [profile], highlighted the recent milestone and revealed that the Milwaukee-based firm has also recently hired another senior muni bond investor.

The birthday of the Baird Municipal Bond Fund and the Baird Strategic Municipal Bond Fund was November 15, 2019. Both funds come in two flavors: institutional shares (BSNIX for the Baird Strategic Municipal Bond Fund, BMQIX for the Baird Municipal Bond Fund) with an expense ratio of 30 basis points; and investor shares (BSNSX for the Baird Strategic Municipal Bond Fund, BMQSX for the Baird Municipal Bond Fund) for 55bps.

As of November 30, 2024, the Baird Municipal Bond Fund had $279.5 million in AUM, while the Baird Strategic Municipal Bond Fund had $1.5062 billion. (Note that the whole Baird Funds family had more than $125 billion in AUM on November 30.)

Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated serves as investment advisor, distributor, and administrator for both five-year-old mutual funds. And both funds use the same five-person Baird Advisors PM team: Joseph Czechowicz, senior vice president; Gabe Diederich, SVP; Lyle Fitterer, managing director; Duane McAllister, managing director; and Erik Schleicher, SVP. Diederich joined the funds' PM team in 2022, but the rest have PMed the funds since inception.

These two five-year-old muni funds "offer an excellent choice for tax-sensitive investors," according to Stanek, who praises the "experienced team" PMing them.

"These funds continue to produce strong and consistent results for our clients," Stanek states.

Stanek also confirms that Wendy Casetta is joining Baird's muni investing team this month. Hartford, Wisconsin-based Casetta, who most recently served as an SVP at National Exchange Bank & Trust, has signed on as an SVP and portfolio manager at Baird Advisors.

"I'm looking forward to starting this new journey in December!" Casetta wrote last month in a LinkedIn post. "Excited to be working with many familiar faces and can't wait to build relationships with my future teammates!"

"Wendy is known and respected and will add even more experienced talent to this seasoned team," Stanek states.

The Baird Municipal Bond Fund and the Baird Strategic Municipal Bond Fund are both series of Baird Funds, Inc. The funds' other service providers include: Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm; Godfrey & Kahn S.C. as counsel; U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (dba U.S. Bank Global Fund Services as dividend disbursing agent and transfer agent; and U.S. Bank National Association as custodian. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE