Baird launches short-term and intermediate-term municipal bond funds

By Wendy Van Sickle

Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 1 – Baird Funds launched two new municipal bond funds on Tuesday, according to a press release.

The new funds are the Baird Short-Term Municipal Bond Fund and the Baird Core Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund.

Baird’s existing municipal bond fund, Baird Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund, will be renamed Baird Quality Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund. The fund’s benchmark has been updated to the Barclays Quality Intermediate Municipal Bond Index, which more closely aligns with the fund’s portfolio composition, according to the release.

Both new funds will invest in municipal bonds and seek income that is exempt from federal income tax, according to the release. These municipal obligations may include debt obligations of states, territories, and possessions of the United States, as well as political subdivisions, agencies and financing authorities. Both funds will invest principally in investment-grade obligations.

Municipal bond portfolio managers Duane McAllister, Erik Schleicher and Joseph Czechowicz will co-manage the two new funds.

“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,” Mary Ellen Stanek, managing director and chief investment officer of Baird Asset Management, said in the release.

Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. will be the funds’ investment adviser.

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