Private Wealth Management Products and Services Experts

 

Tim Byrne is Director of Research, Products and Services for Baird’s Private Wealth Management business and is Chief Information Officer for the firm. His Private Wealth Management responsibilities include: money manager and mutual fund research; equity and fixed income portfolio consultation; financial and estate planning; and oversight of investment products and advisory services. As Chief Information Officer, Tim is responsible for Baird’s global IT investment and organization, including: network, application, and data infrastructure; application development and project management; end-user platforms; and technology support services.

Previously, Tim was Baird’s Senior IT Services Analyst in Equity Research. Prior to joining Baird in 2002, Tim was at Mercer Management Consulting, Inc., most recently as a partner in Mercer’s strategy group where he focused on high-tech industries and helped to launch Mercer’s digital strategy practice. Tim has an AB magna cum laude in Chemistry from the College of the Holy Cross and a MBA from Harvard Business School, and has earned his CFA charter.

Managing Director, Director of Product Strategy

Pete Duback is Director of Product Strategy for Baird’s Private Wealth Management group. In this role, he is responsible for the firm’s managed money platform, and credit and cash management services, as well as the oversight and development of new products and programs.

Prior to joining Baird in 2006, Pete worked in corporate strategy at Smith Barney, a role in which he focused on product innovation and business development. He also worked as an analyst in the capital markets group at E-Trade Financial.

Pete has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and an MBA from Georgetown University.

Managing Director, Director of Private Wealth Management Research

Senior Vice President, Senior Fixed Income Research Analyst

Craig Elder serves as Baird’s Senior Fixed Income Research Analyst, a role in which he provides fixed income market and investment strategy to Private Wealth Management. He provides credit research support for corporate bonds, municipal bonds and preferred stocks.

Prior to joining Baird, Craig was a Senior Vice President in the Fixed Income Research Department at Morgan Keegan, serving as the senior analyst for the Retail Fixed Income Trading Desk. Formerly, he was also the Controller for the SBA Trading Department at the Planters National Bank in Memphis. He began his career in the financial services industry as an account executive for Dean Witter Reynolds.

Craig holds a BBA in Business Administration with a major in Finance from the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis and received an MBA from Christian Brothers University in Memphis. He is a member of the Fixed Income Analyst Society, the CFA Society of Chicago and the CFA Institute.

Commentary from Craig on the bond markets has been featured in national, regional and trade media such as CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Bond Buyer, CFA Magazine, and Bloomberg News.

Senior Vice President, Director of Financial Planning

Tim Steffen is Director of Financial Planning for Baird’s Private Wealth Management group. In this role, he meets with clients and prospects to discuss their financial and estate planning needs, as well as serves as an income tax specialist for Baird Financial Advisors. Tim also supports Financial Advisors in a marketing and training capacity, helping them understand the benefits of using financial planning in their business and educating them on planning techniques.

Prior to joining Baird in 1999, Tim worked in Arthur Anderson’s Private Client Services group where he specialized in tax and financial planning. His clients included corporate executives, business owners and families.

Tim earned his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois in 1991. He is a Certified Public Accountant/Personal Financial Specialist, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professional, and a member of the American and Wisconsin Institutes of CPAs and the Financial Planning Association.

Commentary from Tim on a wide range of financial planning topics has been featured in national, regional and trade media such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Barron’s, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, MarketWatch, Forbes, and InvestmentNews.

First Vice President, 529/UIT Manager
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Senior Vice President, Director of Estate Planning

Rich Behrendt is Director of Estate Planning for Baird’s Private Wealth Management group. In this role, he serves as a general estate planning resource for Baird Financial Advisors and their higher net-worth clients. His specific duties include evaluating existing estate plans and documents, creating customized estate planning reports, and modeling various estate tax planning strategies using state of the art estate planning software.

Prior to joining Baird in 2006, Rich spent twelve years working as an Estate Tax Attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. His responsibilities at the IRS involved auditing estate, gift, and fiduciary income tax returns. He audited estates with a typical $5-10 million net worth, and in some cases significantly more. He specialized at the IRS in auditing Family Limited Partnerships and other more controversial estate planning techniques.

Rich earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1994. He is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Bar Association and Milwaukee Estate Planning Forum. Rich is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School where he teaches a course in advanced estate planning.

Commentary from Rich on a wide range of estate planning topics has been featured in national, regional and trade media such as The New York Times, USA Today, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Registered Rep., Financial Advisor, Journal of Practical Estate Planning, and Trusts & Estates.

First Vice President, Investment Strategist

William Delwiche is Baird’s Investment Strategist and is a member of the Investment Policy Committee. Before joining Baird in 1999, he worked as a researcher at the Committee for Economic Development, a Washington, D.C., pro-business think tank.

Willie received a BA in Economics and in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, and an MA in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is a member of the Market Technicians Association and the American Economics Association.

Commentary from Willie on the economy and stock markets has been featured in national, regional and trade media such as BARRON’S and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

First Vice President, Senior Product Manager

Dayna Kleinman joined Baird in 2002 and has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. She covers multiple products in the alternative investment space including structured products, managed futures and hedging strategies, as well as oversees product development, education, marketing and due diligence.

Previously, Dayna coordinated marketing and product development for Baird’s Fixed Income group. Prior to joining Baird, she was a Regional Manager for Municipal Bond Marketing at Merrill Lynch.

Dayna earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Ithaca College and a Masters degree in Business Administration from DePaul University.

First Vice President, Insurance & Annuity Manager

Blake Panosh manages the day-to-day sales and marketing of insurance and annuity products for Baird. Additionally, he oversees strategic planning for Baird’s Insurance & Annuities department.

Prior to joining Baird in 2006, Blake was a Marketing Director for PDI Financial where he provided life, fixed annuity, and long-term care solutions to financial advisors and their clients. He also was a sales representative for Sentry Insurance, a role in which he marketed and sold property and casualty insurance to individuals and businesses.

Blake has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds his property, casualty, life and health licenses, along with his FINRA series 6, 7 and 63.

First Vice President, Associate Director of Asset Manager Research