The latest senior moves, appointments and personnel changes in North American wealth management.

Baird    
Baird, an investment banking/capital markets, private equity and wealth management house, has added Darrell Reynard (pictured) as a director and financial advisor to its wealth management office in Fairfax, Virginia.

The Fairfax office opened in January this year. In Virginia, Baird, a nationwide firm, also operates in Lynchburg and McLean.

Reynard, who has more than two decades of industry experience, was previously at Edelman Financial Engines where he managed over $293 million in assets. He graduated from James Madison University with a degree in international business and economics. 

Baird’s Private Wealth Management business encompasses more than 1,400 financial advisors with client assets of more than $310 billion as of June 30, 2024.

WFA
Wealth advisory firm WFA has appointed two figures from the sports and broadcasting world to build on its expertise in serving sports industry figures and covering their financial requirements. 

The business has added retired Cincinnati Bengals safety Brandon Wilson and former KSLA News 12 sports reporter Rashad Johnson. It recently said that partner Chase R Crump, CFP® had been named a Registered Player Financial Advisor by the National Football League Players Association.

Wilson and Johnson will collaborate with the firm’s advisors to educate and guide young athletes.

Such appointments highlight how the world of sports and wealth cross over. Young and retired athletes must handle the financial side of relatively short careers, potential injury or changes of teams, the risks of being misused by people chasing after their money, and more. This news service has covered the sports/wealth nexus here and here, for example.

In late July, WFA took part in a North Louisiana Blue Chip Event hosted by former NFL running back John Simon in the Sky Room at Louisiana Downs. Wilson, Johnson and WFA partner and financial planner Dany Martin took the stage to speak about the opportunities and challenges associated with NIL (Name, Image and Likeness), taxes and sudden wealth.

“I’ve never shied away from a challenge in my life or playing career; I’m approaching my new position at WFA with the same mind-set,” Wilson said. “When I got my first paycheck as a professional athlete, I was severely underprepared. I had no plan. I want to be able to educate others who will follow in my footsteps so they don’t make the same mistakes I did.”

Johnson is well acquainted with WFA, having previously worked with the firm as an independent contractor and freelance digital media creator. He is the former head of the KSLA News 12 sports department and the founder of the non-profit clothing brand #ItsAllLove365. 

WFA plans to use Williams’ and Johnson’s backgrounds as it expands its existing support for high-school, collegiate, semi-professional, professional and retired athletes across multiple sports, as well as those involved in NIL endorsement deals. 

WFA was founded in 1997 in Shreveport, Louisiana.  

(See this article for another example of how sports and wealth management intersect. US correspondent Charles Paikert – also a published author on basketball – has written about the financial opportunities in the new college athlete market.)