RBC Wealth Management Lands $670 Million Baird Team in Houston

RBC Wealth Management recruited the $670M Ellsworth Fair team from Baird in Houston, a rare departure from one of the industry's stickiest firms.

RBC Wealth Management has recruited a $670 million team from Robert W. Baird & Co. in Houston, Texas, extending the firm's strong recruiting run in the Southern United States. The team, Ellsworth Fair Wealth Management Group, is led by Steve Ellsworth and Marcus Fair and specializes in employer retirement plans and high-net-worth individual advisory services.

The move is notable for several reasons. First, Baird has historically been one of the stickiest firms in the industry — its advisor satisfaction scores consistently rank among the highest, and voluntary departures are relatively rare. When a team of this size leaves Baird, it signals that the recruiting firm offered something genuinely compelling.

Second, the Houston market has been increasingly competitive. The city's energy wealth, entrepreneurial ecosystem, and favorable tax environment have made it a prime target for national firms looking to expand their presence. RBC, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Raymond James all maintain significant Houston operations, and the competition for established advisory teams is fierce.

RBC's pitch to the Ellsworth Fair team reportedly emphasized three factors: the firm's open-architecture investment platform, its strong institutional consulting capabilities for retirement plan clients, and a compensation structure that was meaningfully more favorable than what Baird was offering. RBC's grid rates for advisors in the $2-4 million production range are generally 3-5 percentage points higher than Baird's, according to industry compensation data.

For RBC, the Houston win is part of a broader strategy to grow its U.S. footprint. The firm reported 24% year-over-year asset growth in early 2025, pushing total client assets to approximately $1 trillion. President Tom Sagissor expanded the firm's regional structure from three to four U.S. divisions to support the growth.

RBC has been particularly effective at recruiting teams from mid-tier firms like Baird, Raymond James, and Stifel. These advisors are often attracted by RBC's combination of global brand recognition — backed by the Royal Bank of Canada — competitive economics, and a culture that is less bureaucratic than the wirehouses but more institutional than the independent platforms.

The retirement plan component of the Ellsworth Fair team's practice is significant. Employer retirement plan advisory work is a growing segment of the wealth management business, driven by increased regulatory scrutiny of plan fees and the proliferation of fiduciary requirements under ERISA. Teams with established retirement plan practices are particularly valuable recruits because the revenue tends to be recurring and the client relationships are deeply embedded.

Baird's loss comes at a time when the Milwaukee-based firm has been investing in its own technology and platform capabilities. The firm recently upgraded its portfolio management and financial planning tools and has been expanding its product shelf. But for some teams, the combination of a larger platform, better economics, and the cachet of a global brand outweighs the advantages of a mid-size firm.

The Houston wealth management market is expected to continue growing. The city's population has increased by more than 15% over the past decade, and its concentration of energy, healthcare, and technology companies creates a steady pipeline of newly wealthy individuals and corporate executives who need sophisticated advisory services.

What to watch: RBC's pipeline in Texas is reportedly strong, with conversations ongoing with several additional teams from Baird, Ameriprise, and regional broker-dealers. The firm's combination of competitive economics and institutional capabilities positions it well to continue growing in the state.