Baird Adds REIT Knowledge

MILWAUKEE, WI-Robert W. Baird & Co., a locally headquartered international investment bank has gained an instant foothold in the REIT industry by hiring a team of specialists away from Ferris, Baker Watts Inc., an investment bank based in Washington, DC. The new team will focus on providing capital raising and advisory services to the publicly traded real estate market.The team is led by Mark Decker Sr., a former president and CEO of the National Association of Real Estate Trusts who also served in the White House during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Also on the team are Mark Decker Jr. and financial analyst David Raff. While at FBW, they managed equity-related financings, mergers and acquisitions, and other transactions for real estate clients. In November, the team took First Potomac Realty public.”The REIT industry continues to offer significant growth opportunities, and the addition of Mark and his team gives Baird a strong presence in this market,” says Terrance Maxwell, director of global investment banking at Baird, which has not previously been a player in the REIT market. The team members will earn a salary plus commissions.Baird is an international investment banking, wealth management, asset management and private equity firm. SinBaird’s principal operating subsidiaries are Robert W. Baird & Co. in the U.S. and Robert W. Baird Group Ltd. in Europe. Baird’s German investment banking partnership, HBB Capital Advisers GmbH, is a joint venture with two of Germany’s largest commercial banks, Landesbank Hessen (Helaba) and Bayerische Landesbank.