Lightbulb featured image with blurred background of a group of people at a table.

Looking Back on 2024 and Ahead to 2025

Reflecting on a Year of Growth

As we begin the new year, we reflect on what we achieved together in 2024 and look forward to what is to come in 2025.

We took significant steps to expand our business and strengthen our relationships in 2024. Over the past year, we have grown our Public Finance team to nearly 100 associates located in 19 offices across 14 states. We started the year opening our first public finance Los Angeles, California office and welcomed John Baracy, Managing Director, and Alex Boutyrski, Senior Vice President, to our platform. Expanding into the California market has broadened our capabilities and increased our relationships on the West Coast.

Later in the year, we added Marquez Guzman, Vice President, to our School Business Solutions team, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Matt Robbins, Vice President, to our Kentucky Public Finance group. Marquez and Matt’s previous experiences working in school districts are an integral part of being able to provide valuable solutions tailored to the unique needs of our school clients.

As we continue to expand our platform, it is crucial to have resources dedicated to helping our teams succeed. We invest in support teams to help our analysts, bankers, salespersons and traders focus on what they do best – collaborate on tailored strategies and custom solutions to serve our clients and institutional investors. Our in-house fixed income professionals offer support in the following areas: compliance and regulations, finance, marketing, operations, real estate and technology. In addition to our in-house support, we maintain a national quantitative resource group, dedicated to advanced quantitative analytics, preparing tailored financing programs for our clients. These central resource support groups are committed to equipping our banking and advisory teams with the resources and tools necessary to serve our clients effectively.

In 2024, our Public Finance teams worked with issuers in 22 states to provide funding solutions unique to their needs. Along with our underwriting desks, I am proud to share that as a result of continued client focus, Baird ranks as the No. 1 underwriter nationally by number of issues collectively since 2009. In addition, and over that time, Baird ranks among the Top 5 municipal advisors nationally also by number of issues, according to S&P Muni Deal Query.

I believe in a growth mindset - To accommodate the demand for our services, broaden our reach, and ensure our offices have the personnel and resources to provide exceptional solutions to our clients, we must continue to grow our team. In 2025, we are looking forward to continuing to expand into new markets and add associates that fit the Baird culture.

I’m grateful for the growth and success the Baird Public Finance team has worked for and achieved in 2024. Thank you to our clients for placing your trust in us. We look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together in 2025!

Brian Brewer
Director of Public Finance

Source: S&P Muni Deal Query as of December 31, 2024. Does not include private placements or notes.