Baird Funds, a division of Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., has launched two new municipal bond funds.
The funds, called the Baird Short-Term Municipal Bond Fund and the Baird Core Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund, will invest in municipal bonds, including debt obligations of state, territories and possessions of the U.S. that provide income that is exempt from federal income taxes.
Baird’s existing municipal bond fund, the Baird Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund, will be renamed the Baird Quality Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund to distinguish it from the new funds and emphasize its focus on high-quality investments. Its benchmark has also been linked to the Barclays Quality Intermediate Municipal Bond Index to reflect this focus.
The new funds will be managed by a team of municipal investment professionals, Duane McAllister, CFA, Erik Schleicher and Joseph Czechowicz, that recently joined Baird from BMO Global Asset Management.
“We are pleased to expand our municipal line up with two funds that provide additional choices for investors while still maintaining our quality investment focus,” said Mary Ellen Stanek, managing director and chief investment officer of Baird Asset Management. “While we will maintain our super high-quality approach with the Baird Quality Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund, the two new funds will have the latitude to invest in a wider array of municipal securities.”
