Baird to acquire New York investment firm M. Griffith
Robert W. Baird & Co. plans to acquire a New York investment firm, adding more than $2 billion in client assets.
Terms of the deal in which M. Griffith Investment Services Inc., of New Hartford, N.Y., will join Milwaukee-based Baird, were not disclosed.
The transaction will expand Baird’s presence in the northeastern U.S. Baird has equity and fixed income capital markets and wealth management operations in more than a dozen offices across the Northeast.
“M. Griffith is a highly respected and well-established firm with a business model and client-focused culture that are very consistent with Baird’s, making them an excellent business partner,” Steve Booth, president and chief executive officer of Baird, said in a statement.
M. Griffith has more than 40 employees, including 12 financial advisers who manage and oversee more than $2 billion in assets.
David Griffith, president of M. Griffith, will serve as vice chairman of private wealth management for Baird when the transaction is completed. He will continue to be involved with clients while also representing Baird in the community, the firms said.
“I’d been thinking about the right way to help write M. Griffith’s next chapter for some time — how we best continue to serve our clients as they have grown to expect, how we maintain our culture and our tradition as an employee-owned firm, and how we continue to attract top financial talent all while keeping pace with an increasingly complex business,” Griffith said.
“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.”
M. Griffith was founded in central New York in 1947. The firm has a long history of being employee-owned. David Griffith, who followed in the footsteps of his parents, Richard and Margaret, in leading the company, has been president since 1972.
Baird, which was established in 1919, has more than 3,450 employees, including about 860 financial advisers working from 94 locations in 30 states. Baird had $203 billion in client assets at the end of 2017.