Baird, the employee-owned wealth management firm, has poached a team of eight brokers from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, says bank investment consultant, a publication.

The advisors joining Baird are: Bill Johnson, John Craddock Snr, Paul McWane, John Craddock Jnr, Tommy Collins, Andrew Flowers, Prescott Terrell and Aubrey Mason. The team collectively managed over $450 million in client assets and is charged with founding Baird’s first wealth management office in Lynchburg, Virginia, the publication says.

These are the latest in a string of staff transfers from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to Baird. Since last November Baird has hired Denise Wypiszenski as chief operating officer, Baird Private Wealth Management; Dennis Rowland to head a new office in St Paul, Minnesota; and Charles Singer and James Carideo to lead its wealth management offices in Indianapolis, Indiana and Tampa, Florida – all formerly of MSSB.

This aggressive hiring demonstrates the wealth manager’s country-wide expansion plans. Overall Baird hired close to 100 advisors last year and has shown no sign of slowing this in 2010.