A Brief History

George K. Baum & Company was incorporated in Kansas City, Missouri on February 16, 1928, and was the partnership of two men: George K. Baum and Earle J. Bernheimer. They opened for business on March 7, 1928, under the name of Baum, Bernheimer Company—later to be renamed George K. Baum & Company in 1946 after George completed the purchase of Earle’s interest in the firm.

A brief history of George K. Baum & Company...

Logo 1928

Kansas City JournalMarch 6, 1928

George was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1893 and graduated from Central High School in 1910. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1914 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was also on the track team. He served as an artillery lieutenant during World War I and was among the few to earn his commission at the first Officers’ Training Camp at Fort Riley, KS. Upon his return from military service, he joined the banking firm of Stern Brothers & Company in Kansas City and rose to become sales manager and Vice President. He left Stern Brothers in February 1928 and formed the new firm with his business partner, Earle Bernheimer.

When they opened for business, they were joined by a bond salesman and two secretaries. Among the first purchases for the new office were the necessities of the day: two Smokador’s, one Cuspidor, eight steel desks, a steel card index file, an Elliott Addressograph, a Burroughs Adding Machine, a Riteall and two Underwood typewriters.

Bankers Row10th & Baltimore StreetsKansas City, Missouri1928

Source: Missouri Valley Special CollectionsKansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri

Source: Missouri Valley Special CollectionsKansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri

The Pioneer Trust Building1016 Baltimore

Kansas City, Missouri1928 to 1979

Since the firm’s founding, it has steered a constant course of stability and integrity through more than 80 years of economic booms and busts. From the beginning, the firm has been focused on Bonds. In its initial application with the predecessor of the Securities & Exchange Commission in 1934 to be registered as an Investment Banker, they listed “Dealers in Municipal Bonds” as their primary business.

The completion of its first municipal bond underwriting for the state of Missouri in the 1930s marked the beginning of George K. Baum & Company’s reputation as an expert in public finance. On February 1, 1938, the firm expanded its operations and added space and personnel for a new trading desk to make a market in corporate stocks – a business that added greatly to the firm’s future success.

The early success of the firm literally rests on the infrastructure needs of the country. Municipal bonds underwritten by the firm fulfilled the funding needs for the great volume of work needed to build modern cities, universities, public schools, hospitals and related facilities before, during and following World War II. Its involvement in municipal bonds across the country earned it a national reputation in public finance which remains true today.

George K. Baum & Company through the years

In 1952, George’s son, G. Kenneth Baum, assumed leadership of the investment bank his father had built. Ken Baum joined the firm the day after he graduated from Carlton College: June 3, 1952. George had suffered a stroke earlier that year and needed Ken to help him run the firm. Ken never looked back. With the help of a dedicated staff of 17 people, Ken quickly learned the business and became an expert in municipal bonds and sales. During the early 1960s, Ken saw an opportunity to reshape the firm and added underwriting of corporate equity securities to the firm’s capabilities.

G. Kenneth Baum, 2001

George K. Baum & Company becomes a member of theNew York Stock Exchange

June 1970

As the firm grew in the 1960s and 70s it developed a private client group and a corporate finance business and expanded the firm’s bond and equity trading activities. It also added several new offices around the region and the country: Topeka, Wichita, St. Louis, Phoenix, Little Rock, Denver and New York, among others. The firm was instrumental in helping several Midwest companies raise capital, complete initial public offerings, and negotiate mergers and acquisitions. These clients included H&R Block, Sealright, Interstate Brands, and American City Business Journals. In 1970, the firm became a member of the New York Stock Exchange as it continued to expand its corporate finance and stock trading businesses.

Source: Missouri Valley Special CollectionsKansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri

The Dwight Building1004 BaltimoreKansas City, Missouri1979 to 1989

George K. Baum & Company strengthened its commitment to the municipal bond business when it hired the staff of Kirchner Moore & Company (a subsidiary of Drexel Burnham Lambert) in 1990, consolidating that Denver based municipal bond firm’s excellent reputation and capabilities with its own strong operations. This addition doubled the firm’s public finance business overnight and catapulted it into to the top echelon of negotiated municipal bond underwriters in the country.

With offices located across the country, the firm became national in both scale and focus. It has developed expertise in housing, higher education, private and public K-12 schools, renewable energy and transportation, to name a few. The firm today is annually ranked among the top 15 senior managers of negotiated municipal bonds in the country. In certain of its specialties, such as housing and independent schools, it is nationally ranked in the top five.

G. Kenneth Baum, Bill Coughlin, Don Roberts

1984

George K. Baum & CompanyHeadquarters120 West 12th StreetKansas City, Missouri1989 to 2005

George K. Baum & CompanyMunicipal Division

717 17th Street, Suite 2500Denver, Colorado

1990 to 2008

Jonathan E. Baum, Ken’s son, joined the firm in 1991 after completing a Masters in Finance at the University of Chicago and spending five years with Salomon Brothers in New York as a vice president of mergers and acquisitions. Jon acquired the firm from his father in 1994 and is the Chairman and CEO of George K. Baum & Company today.

Under Jon’s leadership, the firm continued its growth during the 1990s. A $100 million private equity fund, George K. Baum Capital Partners, was formed in 1994 to acquire private middle market companies. During its life, the Fund invested in 11 companies and returned a top quartile return to its investors. The Fund was completed in 2009. George K. Baum Trust Company was formed in 1994 and grew to $360 million of assets under management when it was sold to Gold Bank in 2002.

Jon remained true to his family’s tradition of constantly adapting to changing financial market dynamics. In 1999, the acquisition of Prairie Capital Management brought an outstanding wealth management business to complement the firm’s focus on private client investment services. While the public finance and taxable bond businesses grew substantially during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the character and requirements of the equity capital markets and retail brokerage businesses led the firm to narrow its focus in 2000 to its core municipal and taxable fixed income businesses, corporate M&A and strategic advisory services, private equity and wealth management.

During the first decade of the new millennium, the Firm’s businesses continued to deliver results for its clients and shareholders through several changing, dynamic, and, at times, difficult financial markets. In particular, the Firm successfully managed its businesses through the financial turmoil of the 2008 financial and credit markets crisis.

In 2010, as Prairie Capital Management had grown to over $3 billion in assets under management, it began to attract the attention of larger financial institutions wishing to expand and improve their asset management platforms. In July 2010, United Missouri Bank purchased Prairie Capital Management and retained the management team in a very successful transaction for all parties.

As the Firm enters its 85th year, it is focused on municipal banking, sales and trading, and taxable fixed income sales and trading at George K. Baum & Company, and corporate mergers and acquisitions advisory services and private capital placements at George K. Baum Capital Advisors.

Jonathan E. Baum, 2003

Today, George K. Baum & Company and George K. Baum Capital Advisors are represented by approximately 200 talented and focused financial professionals located in offices across the country who make it their business everyday to provide their clients with the best advice and cutting edge ideas.

In 1928, a corporate pledge was made to combine quality service with integrity and creativity. This commitment has never been compromised and remains the cornerstone of our business today.

George K. Baum & CompanyGeorge K. Baum Capital AdvisorsPlaza Colonnade4801 Main Street, Suite 500Kansas City, Missouri 641122005 to Present

George K. Baum & CompanyMunicipal Division

1400 Wewatta, Suite 800Denver, Colorado 80202

2009 to Present