Mesirow, an independent, employee-owned financial services firm, today announced that the firm has been ranked #9 on Crain?s Chicago Business list of the Largest Wealth Management Firms in the Chicago Area. ¹

According to Crain's, "Chicago's largest wealth management firms, which serve the region's most affluent clients, oversee hundreds of billions in local assets." Crain's newest list highlights 24 of these financial institutions, ranked by local assets under management, or AUM, as of Dec. 31. Combined, the 24 firms on this year's list oversee a staggering $763.8 billion in local assets and employ nearly 2,000 portfolio managers across the Chicago area.

This recognition from Crain's Chicago Business reflects Mesirow Wealth Management's strong and growing position among firms serving the region's most affluent clients. With over $12.4 billion in assets under management and advisement,² the firm is ranked #9 out of 24 firms on the list well above the median local AUM of $7.3 billion. The ranking places Mesirow among an elite group of wealth management firms operating in one of the nation's most competitive financial markets.

"As the highest-ranked independent, employee-owned firm on Crain's list, we're proud to be recognized alongside the industry's largest institutions, said Natalie Brown, Mesirow CEO. "This distinction reflects our longstanding commitment to putting clients first and delivering comprehensive, customized wealth plans across generations."

This recognition comes amid continued strategic expansion by Mesirow Wealth Management through organic growth, strategic acquisitions and expanding products and services. In 2023, Mesirow announced the acquisition of Front Barnett Associates, LLC, deepening Mesirow's wealth management offering to high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients, and in September 2024, acquired Price Wealth Management, an RIA firm based in Stuart, Florida. The firm also recently expanded its estate and tax planning capabilities through key hires that align with its commitment to serving clients through a deeply personalized, relationship-driven model.

"Our approach is intentionally accessible," said Brian Price, CEO, Mesirow Wealth Management. "We're able to serve not just ultra-high-net-worth families, but also successful individuals and business owners who value comprehensive planning and thoughtful investment strategies."

"Mesirow Wealth Management is now one of the largest independent wealth management firms in the region, with 40 Wealth Advisors based in the Chicago area," continued Price. "That depth allows us to offer clients a highly personalized experience backed by sophisticated insights and local expertise."

Mesirow Wealth Management offers a differentiated approach that places equal emphasis on customized, comprehensive wealth plans that evolve along with clients' lives and expert investment selection in all markets, including access to traditional stock and bond opportunities as well as alternative investments.

The firm has more than $12.4 billion in assets under management / assets under advisement,² and Mesirow overall has $306.2 billion in assets under supervision.³

In September 2024, Mesirow was named a Barron's Top 100 RIA Firm for the fourth consecutive year.⁴ The firm advanced to #41/100, reflecting its focus on continuing growth and outstanding client service.

We invite you to learn more about Mesirow Wealth Management at mesirow.com.

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1.    2025 Crain's Chicago Business Largest Wealth Management firms in the Chicago area (received March 2025), is an annual list of the top firms in the Chicago area as ranked by assets under management as of December 31, 2024. To qualify, firms must be located or have clients in the seven-county area of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake (Ill.), Lake (Ind.), McHenry and Will counties. Crain's defines wealth management firms as financial institutions that offer a comprehensive set of services that cover not only investment management, but also other aspects of personal finance, such as tax, estate planning and retirement advice. Rankings are based on research conducted by Crain's Chicago Business, which does not receive compensation from businesses in exchange for placement on the ranking.

2.    Assets under management is as of 12.31.2024 and Assets under advisement is as of 9.30.2024. Some assets under advisement (?AUA ) are on a 45-to-90-day lag due to time needed to confirm away assets.

3.    As of 12.31.2024 unless otherwise noted. | 1. Assets under supervision includes regulatory assets under management; assets under advisement; and non-securities currency assets under management. For these purposes: (1) regulatory assets under management (RAUM ) is calculated in accordance with Instruction 5A of Form ADV and includes all assets of securities portfolios (both discretionary and non-discretionary). (2) Some assets under advisement (?AUA ) are on a 45-to-90-day lag due to time needed to confirm away assets. (3) Currency assets under management includes AUM associated with (i) active and passive currency risk management products $175.23 billion, (ii) non-fx overlay strategies such as equitization and beta overlays $885.03 million, and (iii) alpha strategies $1.57 billion. In all such cases, AUM is calculated based on notional value of currency investments. Additionally, AUM for alpha strategies is adjusted because clients can select a volatility target (generally between 2% and 12% annualized), which is normalized to 2% in order to create a consistent depiction of alpha strategy AUM. This results in a scaled AUM, which is higher than the actual aggregate notional value of all alpha strategy portfolios if clients have selected a volatility target higher than 2%. As of 12.31.2024, the ?unscaled AUM for alpha strategies was $365.38 million.

4.    2024 Barron's Top RIAs (Received September 2024 for the year 2023.  Licensing fees paid post award for use of the ranking). In order to be considered for the Barron?s 2024 Top RIA Firms list, applicants were required to complete a 145-question survey, with the firm?s ADV informing the majority of responses. Firms were also required to meet a number of other specified requirements to be eligible for inclusion. Firms were ranked based on various qualitative and quantitative factors, including assets managed, the size and experience of teams, regulatory records of the advisors and firms, technology spending, staff diversity, organic and M&A growth, client segmentation as well as succession planning.