In a new episode of the Financial Planning podcast, Baird recruiting executive Ashley Price explains how the wealth manager is working with advisor practices and a state university to help usher in the next generation of planners.
Price is Baird’s private wealth management diversity and recruiting manager, leading the expanding employee channel firm’s inclusion, training and practice support from its headquarters in Milwaukee. The firm’s Private Wealth Management division has more than 1,300 financial advisors in 160 offices managing $239 billion in client assets, according to its 2020 annual report. The unit generated revenue of $1.16 billion, which is up by more than three quarters in the past five years.
In the podcast, FP Chief Correspondent Tobias Salinger asks Price the following five questions about Baird’s approach to recruiting new entrants to the profession, the level of resources and support from senior executives, and the role of associate resource groups.
1. NextGen is always a hot topic in wealth management, given the advanced age of most financial advisors and the lack of representation of Black and Latino advisors. How does Baird’s Foundation program work, and what are the demographics of the program?
2. Since 2014, Baird has been collaborating with the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Wisconsin School of Business on a formalized educational track in wealth management and financial planning. In April, the company established an endowed professorship in the Department of Finance, Investment, and Banking. How else are you working with the state’s flagship university to support the next generation of financial advisors?
3. Recruiting for individual practices and branches represents an extremely important area of the business, given the importance of growth and scale. How do you work with financial advisors on growing their teams?
4. Employee or associate resource groups can often provide connections and sharing of best practices among minority professionals in the financial services. What associate resource groups does Baird have?
5. Positions relating to diversity, equality and inclusion seem very challenging to me due to the historic and persistent nature of racial inequality in our country and sometimes a lack of resources or buy-in from senior executives. How would you describe the level of resources and senior-level support for these initiatives at Baird?
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