Baird is now a minority owner of a new woman-owned investment platform that wants to make it easy for financial advisers to access direct indexing — an innovation it believes is the next disruptive technology in index investing.
GAMMA Investing LLC, which is based in Foster City, California, added Milwaukee-based Baird as a strategic investment partner, according to a Tuesday announcement.
Baird executive director of wealth solutions and operations Laura Thurow has joined GAMMA's board, which is primarily comprised of women and minority members.
Founded in 2020 by Lorraine Wang, GAMMA's belief is that direct indexing is the next major innovation after exchange-traded funds (ETFs), its website states. Wang previously held positions at the New York Stock Exchange, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Citi and grew an ETF startup to a $300 billion franchise in 14 years, according to her bio.
"Lorraine has a well-established reputation, and we are pleased to support her in this venture," Baird chairman, president and CEO Steve Booth said in a statement.
Direct indexing, also known as custom index separately managed accounts, are a bespoke portfolio of securities that track the performance of an index. Investors can customize accounts based on their goals, social values and tax strategies.
Richmond, Virginia-based RiverFront Investment Group, of which Baird is also a minority owner, also purchased a minority stake in GAMMA. RiverFront chief operating officer Karrie Southall also joined GAMMA's board.
"Our investment in GAMMA demonstrates our belief that direct indexing is an important piece of the investment management ecosystem for the long-term," RiverFront CEO Pete Quinn said in a statement.
