Wall Street Journal: Baird’s Mary Ellen Stanek Discusses Investment Strategy, Rising Rates and Diversity in Fund Management

In a May 6, 2018 Wall Street Journal Q&A “A Star Bond-Fund Manager Avoids the Shortcuts,” Mary Ellen Stanek, President of Baird Funds and Chief Investment Officer of Baird Advisors, spoke with Chuck Jaffe about the team’s investment approach, rising rates, diversity and its commitment to clients.  

(excerpt)

WSJ: A lot of popular bond-fund managers have gravitated toward derivatives and other alternative strategies, but not Baird. Why not?

MS. STANEK: We’re a “What-you-see-is-what-you-get” style of bond manager. We’re not masqueraders, acting more like stock managers while we talk about consistency and compounding.

Being called “sleep insurance” is a badge of honor to a core investment-grade bond manager. That’s why you own bonds in the first place, for income, for lower volatility, for more predictability. And that’s why, in the bond portfolio of your asset allocation, you don’t want to amplify the risk [by using derivatives] or become overly complex and counterproductive to the long-term wealth of shareholders.

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