Robert W. Baird & Co. (better known as Baird) offers wealth management, capital markets, asset management, and private equity capital to clients worldwide. In 2025, Baird ranked No. 11 on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Its investment banking unit has more than 540 banking associates and covers more than 50 industry verticals. The firm's equity research team covers more than 700 companies.  

Baird’s history dates to 1919, when Robert Wilson Baird, one of the founders of the National Association of Securities Dealers, was named lead partner of the First Wisconsin Company, the securities division of the First Wisconsin National Bank. Baird rose to become president of the division, which was later spun off and renamed the Securities Company of Milwaukee Incorporated. By 1948, the firm had obtained a seat on the NYSE and assumed its current name, Robert W. Baird & Co. The firm gathered its strength in Wisconsin in the 1980s, becoming the state's top investment bank before embarking on a strategic expansion in the 1990s. This led to the opening of dozens of new offices in the U.S. and Europe.