Baird, the international wealth management and private equity firm, has added eight wealth professionals to its Salt Lake City branch. 

Five of the advisors are from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, namely Fred Wheeler, Jan Bayle, Alex Wheeler, Barbara Campbell, and Jery Mariani. Together, they have more than 65 years of industry experience and manage over $250 million in client assets. The five join as senior vice presidents and financial advisors.

The other three new joiners to Baird are Melissa Clayville as a registered client relationship specialist, Christie Siddoway as a registered client relationship associate, and Scott Ulbrich as a financial advisor associate. 

Fred and Alex Wheeler, Bayle, and Siddoway will work together as The Wheeler Bayle Group. Meanwhile Campbell, Mariani, and Clayville will work as The PMC Group, which Campbell and Mariani founded in 2001 at Smith Barney. Ulbrich is to begin Baird's financial advisor training program in September before joining the PMC Group by the end of the year. 

Baird continues to grow in the US and has added more than 200 financial advisors and branch managers to its private wealth management operations since 2009. The company has also opened 11 extra branches throughout the country and says it intends to open several more in the Utah region this year. 

The company reported more than $66 billion in client assets as of 31 March 2011.