Cara Esser is a Managing Director, Research and Portfolio Management and an Investment Committee Member in Mesirow Retirement Advisory Services. Her quantitative and qualitative due diligence skills combined with her investment consulting expertise, helps qualified plan sponsors build and maintain a sound fiduciary process.

Cara has 19 years of financial services experience. Prior to rejoining Mesirow in 2020, she served as the Director of Investments and Retirement for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, where she led manager due diligence for $15 billion in assets across multiple defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Prior to that, she was the Director of Research at Mesirow Retirement Advisory Services, following her work as Associate Director of Fixed Income Manager Research at Morningstar, Inc. Before that, she served as a Financial Analyst at the American Association of Individual Investors.

Cara is a Chartered Financial Analyst® charterholder, and a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Chicago. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Missouri and a Master of Business Administration from DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business.