Baird to buy 90-advisor firm that pioneered ‘Masterplan’

In its largest M&A deal in nearly three years, Baird secured an agreement to acquire a privately held wealth manager with more than 90 financial advisors.

Hefren-Tillotson, a 74-year-old brokerage and RIA with six offices in Greater Pittsburgh managing $18 billion in client assets, plans to fully integrate into Baird by October following the expected close of the deal in June, the firms said on Jan. 24. The parties didn’t disclose the terms of the deal.

While wealth management M&A deals have set records across the industry in terms of the number and size of deals for at least eight straight years, Baird has primarily expanded through recruiting and organic growth without tapping the private equity capital crowding into the industry. In 2019, the Milwaukee-based firm acquired onetime rival Hilliard Lyons, a brokerage and trust firm that had 380 advisors and $50 billion in client assets at the time.

“We have known and had the highest regard for Hefren-Tillotson and their leadership team for years,” Baird CEO Steve Booth said in a statement. “Not only do they have a stellar reputation, but the similarities between our two firms are remarkable — a strong, client-first culture and business model, a commitment to being a great place to work, and a tradition of giving back to the community.”

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Hefren-Tillotson has 271 employees and $10.91 billion in assets under management, with more than $10.52 billion attributable to its 12,270 individual and high net worth individual clients, according to its latest SEC Form ADV. Founder Willard J. “Bill” Tillotson created what the firm calls its “Masterplan” approach compiling a client’s goals and objectives in a comprehensive and written plan “more than 35 years ahead of the competition,” according to the firm’s website.

“On every level, Baird embodies the same culture and values that have always defined our firm,” CEO Kim Tillotson Fleming said in a statement. “Like Baird, being privately held has allowed us to stay focused on what matters most — our clients and our associates. When thinking about the future legacy of our family and employee-owned business and name, we cannot imagine a better partner than Baird.”

Tillotson Fleming and the firm’s other senior leadership in Craig Tillotson and Don Belt will remain with the firm through the merger, according to the firms. After the close, Tillotson Fleming will serve on the firm’s executive committee as its vice chair while maintaining her relationships with her clients as an advisor. Belt will be director of operations and integration.

Baird’s Private Wealth Management unit spans more than 1,300 advisors in 160 locations with $255 billion in client assets. Besides the Hilliard Lyons deal, it purchased M. Griffith in 2018 and McAdams Wright Ragen in 2014. A decade earlier, the 103-year-old firm bought out then-majority shareholder Northwestern Mutual.