Mary Ellen has more than 40 years of investment experience managing a broad range of fixed income portfolios. She is responsible for the formulation of fixed income strategy as well as the development and implementation of all fixed income asset management services. Mary Ellen serves on the board of Baird Financial Group, as President of the Baird Funds and is chair of the Baird Diversity Steering Committee. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Marquette University and her MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Mary Ellen earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1983 and is currently a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Mary Ellen was President and Chief Executive Officer of Firstar Investment Research and Management Company (FIRMCO) and was Director of Fixed Income.

Charlie has more than 40 years of investment experience managing a broad range of fixed income portfolios. His responsibilities include setting investment policy and implementing the long-term investment strategy of Baird Advisors. He also plays a lead role in the management of institutional client relationships. Charlie obtained his undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University and his MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Charlie was a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager with Firstar Investment Research & Management Company (FIRMCO).

Warren plays a lead role in the formulation of fixed income strategy as well as the development and implementation of Baird Advisors’ fixed income asset management services. Warren obtained his undergraduate degree from Lawrence University and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1990. He is currently a member of the CFA Institute and a past President of the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Warren was a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager with Firstar Investment Research and Management Company (FIRMCO) where he managed municipal bond portfolios and intermediate taxable bond portfolios.Mr. Pierson received his undergraduate degree from Lawrence University and was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1990. Mr. Pierson is currently a member of the CFA Institute and is past President of the CFA Society of Milwaukee.

Sharon plays a lead role in risk management and portfolio construction focusing on managing short and intermediate taxable portfolios and tax-exempt portfolios. Sharon obtained her undergraduate degree from Eastern Illinois University. She is currently a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Sharon was an Assistant Vice President and Portfolio Manager with Firstar Investment Research and Management Company (FIRMCO) where she did quantitative fixed income analysis and portfolio management.

Jeff has more than 25 years of investment experience managing a broad range of fixed income portfolios. He plays a lead role in overseeing credit research and developing and implementing investment strategies within the credit sector. Jeff obtained his undergraduate degree from Carroll University and his M.S. in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned the Certified Public Accountant designation in 1991 and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1998. Jeff is currently a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Jeff was the Director of Corporate Bonds at Clarica Life Insurance and began his career as an auditor at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Jay has more than 35 years of investment experience managing a broad range of fixed income portfolios. He is the head of fixed income research and oversees risk management across Baird Advisors’ portfolio strategies. Jay also plays a lead role in the formulation and implementation of investment strategy. In addition, he directs product responsibility for Long Duration LDI strategies designed for defined benefit pension plans. Jay obtained his undergraduate degree from Marquette University and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1987. He is currently a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Jay was a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager with Putnam Investments in Boston where he was responsible for strategy formulation and portfolio construction across a wide variety of multi-sector fixed income mandates.

Meg has more than 20 years of investment experience managing a broad range of fixed income portfolios. She co-leads research and strategy development in the mortgage and asset-backed sectors. Meg obtained her undergraduate degree in Economics from Boston College, and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2005. She is currently a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to rejoining Baird Advisors in 2007, Meg was a Vice President and Portfolio Manager with Deerfield Capital Management in Chicago where she was a member of the asset-backed securities team focusing on collateralized debt obligations.

Pat co-leads research and strategy development in the mortgage and asset-backed sectors. Pat obtained his undergraduate degree in Finance and his MS in Applied Economics from Marquette University. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2006 and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Pat was a Senior Vice President at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. covering institutional fixed income accounts where he focused on research and relative value analysis within securitized products and investment grade credit.

Abhi focuses on research and analysis in investment-grade and high-yield corporate credits. Abhi obtained his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Vasavi College of Engineering and his Master’s in Computer Science and MBA in Finance from Sam Houston State University. He earned the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation in 2010 and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2014. Abhi is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, he was an Assistant Vice President and Fixed Income Analyst at BMO Global Asset Management.

Andy focuses on research and analysis in investment-grade and high-yield corporate credits. Andy obtained his undergraduate degree from Marquette University, where he was a graduate of the Applied Investment Management program. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2012 and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Andy performed credit research at M&I Investment Management.