McAuley will also work as a financial advisor for high net worth families and institutional equity clients. Charles Knowlton, the former branch manager, will continue as a Baird financial advisor in Charleston.

McAuley began his career in the financial industry in 1997 with the former A G Edwards & Sons. He stayed there through mergers with Wachovia Securities and Wells Fargo. He joins from the latter, where he was most recently a senior vice president of investments. He was a branch manager at Wachovia and A G Edwards.

Baird, an international company, has hired some 325 financial advisors and branch managers within its private wealth management arm since the beginning of 2009.

The firm has also opened wealth management offices in markets including Denver, CO; Lake Norman, NC; Sarasota, FL.; Portland, ME; Salt Lake City; Houston and Fort Worth, TX; and Portland, OR.