Mesirow Financial
| Company type | Employee-owned |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1937 |
| Founder | Norman Mesirow |
| Headquarters | Chicago , United States |
| Products | Investment management, capital markets, wealth management, investment banking |
Mesirow is a Chicago-based, employee-owned private financial services company. Its service offerings include investment management, capital markets, wealth management, and investment banking.
Established in 1937 by Norman Mesirow, who secured a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, the firm originally concentrated on wealth management before broadening its expertise to encompass global investment management, capital markets, investment banking, and insurance sectors.
The firm’s real estate arm developed its current headquarters located at 353 North Clark in Chicago’s River North district. This property was sold to Tishman Speyer Properties in 2010 for approximately $385 million, with Mesirow arranging a lease extension for ten years as of January 2024.
In 2015 and 2016, Mesirow acquired Verizon’s operations center in New Jersey for $650 million and its regional headquarters in Irving, Texas, for $344 million, both transactions structured as sale-leaseback agreements. The company divested its insurance division to Alliant in 2016 and sold its $8 billion hedge fund business to Lighthouse Investment Partners in 2018.
That same year, Mesirow purchased three Gateway Casinos properties in the Greater Vancouver area valued at over CA$500 million, subsequently leasing them back to Gateway and its affiliates. In 2019, former political figure Melissa Bean was appointed CEO of the wealth management division. Additionally, Mesirow provided financing for a new U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Puerto Rico.
In 2020, Mesirow acquired the Las Vegas Raiders’ headquarters and practice facility through a $191 million sale-leaseback deal. Beginning in 2021, the firm expanded its presence into Florida and the Southeastern United States with new offices established in Miami, Miami Beach, and Boca Raton.
Natalie A. Brown was named CEO in June 2022, becoming the first woman to lead the company. Under her guidance, Mesirow has targeted growth opportunities within the municipal bond sector. In 2022, it led a $275 million financing initiative for NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and was appointed Primary Discount Note dealer by the International Finance Corporation.
In September 2023, Mesirow acquired Front Barnett, a wealth management firm based in Chicago. The following month, Creative Planning purchased Mesirow’s corporate retirement advisory unit managing roughly $13 billion in assets under management. By December 2023, Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions began delivering RIA services to WEX Inc.
Expanding its alternative asset portfolio, Mesirow acquired Bastion Management—an asset-backed private credit manager—at the end of 2024. Early in 2025, MetLife completed the acquisition of three investment teams along with assets managed by Mesirow.
Awards and recognition
Between 2019 and 2024, Mesirow consistently achieved a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index.
In 2020, InvestmentNews honored Mesirow as one of the Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors.
From 2018 through 2022, Crain's Chicago Business included Mesirow among Chicago’s top 100 workplaces. Additionally, Pensions & Investments recognized the firm six times as a "Best Place to Work in Money Management."
Mesirow featured on Barron's list of the top 100 registered investment adviser firms from 2021 to 2024, most recently ranking at number 41.
In 2022, following a 23% growth in assets under management during 2021, Mesirow placed 13th on Crain's Chicago Business ranking of the top 25 financial services firms by AUM.
That same year marked the third consecutive occasion that Mesirow earned MoneyAge's Currency Manager of the Year award while managing currency assets exceeding $150 billion.
In 2023, its retirement advisory division was recognized as a Top DC Advisor Team by the National Association of Plan Advisors for the fourth year running, overseeing $11.3 billion across more than 226,000 plan participants.