Baird Acquires Stake in Canada’s Sagard in Private Funds Push

Robert W. Baird & Co. is buying a stake in Canadian alternative asset manager Sagard Holdings Inc., becoming its first US institutional shareholder in a deal that also includes distribution of Sagard funds.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Baird, which manages $525 billion in client assets, will join Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund and Bank of Montreal as a minority investor in Sagard, which is controlled by the Desmarais family. The transaction will be announced Tuesday.