Baird Grabs Yet Another High-Level Smith Barney Defector Hot

As the recent pattern indicates, Steven Stroker was a long-term veteran of the industry before he came to Baird, having started at Smith Barney back in 1983. 

He worked his way up from consultant to the head of 10 branches stretching from Illinois up through Michigan to Ohio. Meanwhile, the firm evolved into the modern Morgan Stanley.

While it's possible Baird -- an employee-owned firm -- made Stroker a rich offer Morgan Stanley couldn't match, it's more likely that he was looking for a way out.

Previous defectors cited a clash of cultures and the "bureaucratic" constraints of life under Morgan Stanley.

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