Baird Quality Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund
The Fund is managed through a duration-neutral, risk-controlled approach with a strong emphasis on the long-term perspective. The primary investment objective of the Fund is to seek current income that is substantially exempt from federal income tax. A secondary objective is to seek total return with relatively low volatility of principal. The Fund invests in municipal securities issued by governmental authorities throughout the United States and its territories. The Fund primarily purchases general obligation and pre-refunded bonds issued for any purpose as well as certain revenue bonds.
Performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment in the fund will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. The funds' current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.
Because the Fund may invest more than 25% of its total assets in municipal obligations issued by entities located in the same state or the interest on which is paid solely from revenues of similar projects, changes in economic, business or political conditions relating to a particular state or types of projects may have a disproportionate impact on the Fund. A bond's market value may be affected significantly by changes in interest rates – generally, when interest rates rise, the bond's market value declines and when interest rates decline, its market value rises ("interest rate risk").
The Barclays Quality Intermediate Municipal Bond Index tracks the performance of municipal bonds with remaining maturities between 2 and 12 years and a minimum credit rating of A3. Indices are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.
Duane McAllister, CFA
Managing Director
Senior Portfolio Manager
Duane has 33 years of investment experience managing fixed income portfolios, with a primary focus on the municipal market. He plays a lead role in the formulation and implementation of investment strategy with a major portion of his time allocated to municipal portfolio management and credit research. Duane obtained his undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois University and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1991. He is currently a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Duane was a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at BMO Global Asset Management where he was the lead portfolio manager for tax-free fixed income strategies.
Lyle Fitterer, CFA
Managing Director
Senior Portfolio Manager
Lyle has 31 years of investment experience managing fixed income portfolios, with a primary focus on the municipal market. He plays a lead role in the formulation and implementation of investment strategy with a major portion of his time allocated to municipal portfolio management and credit research. Lyle obtained his undergraduate degree in Accounting from the University of North Dakota. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1996 and is currently a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Lyle served as the co-head of Global Fixed Income and the head of the Municipal Fixed Income team at Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM).
Erik R. Schleicher, CFA
Senior Vice President
Portfolio Manager
Erik has 16 years of investment experience. His responsibilities include portfolio management, credit research and strategy development in the municipal sector. Erik obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and his MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2017 and is currently a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Erik was a Portfolio Manager with BMO Global Asset Management where he was responsible for managing tax-free fixed income strategies and credit research.
Joseph J. Czechowicz, CFA
Senior Vice President
Portfolio Manager
Joe has 13 years of investment experience. His responsibilities include portfolio management, credit research and strategy development in the municipal sector. Joe obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and his MBA with a concentration in applied security analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2017 and is currently a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee. Prior to joining Baird Advisors, Joe was a Portfolio Manager with BMO Global Asset Management where he was responsible for managing tax-free fixed income strategies and credit research.
Warren D. Pierson, CFA
Managing Director
Deputy Chief Investment Officer
Warren has 34 years of investment experience managing a broad range of fixed income portfolios. He 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.
M. Sharon deGuzman
Managing Director
Senior Portfolio Manager
Sharon has 29 years of investment experience managing a broad range of fixed income portfolios. She 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.