Morgan Stanley loses $210 million team to Baird

Veteran adviser C. Gene Jester, who led a group managing $210 million in assets at Morgan Stanley, has moved to the private wealth unit of Baird. Mr. Jester, along with broker Bert "Cort" Lester Bennett IV and three associates, have opened Baird's first office in Chapel Hill, N.C. Mr. Jester began his securities career in 1987 at Carolina Securities and worked at Thomson McKinnon, Wheat First and Robinson-Humphrey before joining Wachovia Securities in 1996. He joined UBS in 2004 and Morgan Stanley in 2009. Mr. Bennett began his career at Wachovia Securities in 2003, and held positions where he was registered and not registered until 2016, when he joined Morgan Stanley.