MILWAUKEE, June 15, 2021 – Employee-owned Baird announced today that Mary Ellen Stanek is a nominee for the 2021 Morningstar Awards for Investing Excellence in the Outstanding Portfolio Manager category for the third straight year. Morningstar analysts nominated four candidates for the award across asset classes.  Stanek is being recognized as the Chief Investment Officer of the team that manages Baird Aggregate Bond (BAGIX) and Baird Core Plus Bond (BCOIX) funds, among others.

The Morningstar Awards for Investing Excellence recognize portfolio managers, asset-management firms, and up-and-coming managers that demonstrate excellent investment skill, the courage to differ from the consensus to benefit investors, and an alignment of interests with strategies’ investors. The winners will be announced on CNBC, the week of June 21, 2021. Morningstar’s methodology is available here.

Baird Advisors is known for managing high-quality investment grade bond portfolios using a duration neutral approach. In an article published on Morningstar.com, Morningstar analysts said: “The stability of Stanek's nimble, nine-person portfolio management team speaks to its strength. Her commitment to employee development and the firm's employee-ownership structure foster a tight-knit team culture with little turnover. Stanek has also been proactive in expanding the team's roster and resources as many of the key players on this investment team are later in their careers.

“Stanek has exemplified an investors-first mentality. Long before it was the industry norm, Stanek and her team launched these strategies with some of the lowest fees available for actively managed strategies. The low fees ensure the managers don't have to take on more risk to clear their price hurdles and beat their respective benchmarks.”

 “Being recognized for third time in three years is extraordinary,” said Steve Booth, Baird’s President and Chief Executive Officer. ”Mary Ellen and her team have remained dedicated to their successful approach for more than 20 years at Baird and many years before that. It is that consistent dedication that has helped their clients navigate all kinds of markets, especially the one we experienced last year.”

 “I’m humbled to be recognized among this distinguished group of investment professionals,” said Mary Ellen Stanek, Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager. “Despite the pandemic, I’m particularly proud of how our team was able to continue supporting our investors over the last year. We’re proud to do this work and serve our investors year after year.”

About Baird Funds

Baird Funds is a no-load mutual fund family with more than $94 billion in assets as of May 31, 2021. The Baird Funds offer proven track records and a variety of portfolios spanning fixed income and equity asset classes. The ten bond funds and six stock funds feature competitive fees and are managed with a careful focus on risk control. For more information, visit www.bairdfunds.com.

About Baird

Putting clients first since 1919, Baird is an employee-owned, international wealth management, asset management, investment banking/capital markets, and private equity firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Baird has approximately 4,500 associates serving the needs of individual, corporate, institutional and municipal clients and more than $350 billion in client assets as of December 31, 2020. Committed to being a great workplace, Baird ranked No. 32 on the 2021 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list. Baird is the marketing name of Baird Financial Group. Baird’s principal operating subsidiaries are Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated in the United States and Robert W. Baird Group Ltd. in Europe. Baird also has an operating subsidiary in Asia supporting Baird’s investment banking and private equity operations. For more information, please visit Baird’s website at www.rwbaird.com.

Please click here for current performance, ratings and maximum sales charge, load or fees that may be associated with the fund.

Performance data represents past performance and does not guarantee future results.  The investment return and principal value of the investment will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance data may be lower or higher than the data quoted.  For performance data to the most recent month end, contact Baird directly at 866-442-2473 or www.bairdassetmanagement.com/baird-funds

Some of the potential risks associated with fixed income investments include call risk, reinvestment risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, default risk, liquidity risk and inflation risk. Additionally, it is important that an investor is familiar with the inverse relationship between a bond’s price and its yield. Bond prices will fall as interest rates rise and vice versa.

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Nomination awarded to Mary Ellen Stanek for the 2021 U.S. Morningstar Awards for Investing Excellence.

For additional information, contact:

Jody Lowe
414-322-9311
jody@lowecom.com