Wealth Manager Front Barnett to Join Mesirow, Further Expanding Firm's Wealth Management Offering

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Sep 18, 2023, 10:30 ET

Mesirow clients will gain access to fundamentally driven, actively managed equity and fixed income strategies.
Front Barnett clients will continue to benefit from the capabilities and client service they know, while gaining a prominent parent firm with deep resources, strong capital, and robust infrastructure.
No change to Front Barnett mission, leadership or day-to-day operations.

CHICAGO, Sept. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mesirow, an independent, employee-owned financial services firm, today announced that Front Barnett Associates LLC, a leading high net worth and ultra-high net worth wealth manager and registered investment advisor (RIA) firm, will join Mesirow and will operate as a distinct platform within the broader Mesirow Wealth Management offering. The transaction is expected to close in late September, subject to customary closing conditions.

Wealth Manager Front Barnett to Join Mesirow, Further Expanding Firm’s Wealth Management Offering. Top L to R: Peter Wahlstrom, Ann M. Marsh, Brian Price, Darren Feld and Mickey MacMillan Bottom L to R: Natalie Brown and Marshall B. Front

There will be no change to the Front Barnett mission, investment process, and day-to-day operations, which will continue to be led by Marshall B. Front, Mickey MacMillan and Peter Wahlstrom CFA, CFP®. The team will go to market as Front Barnett, A Mesirow Company.

"We are excited to welcome the Front Barnett team to Mesirow," said Natalie Brown, Mesirow CEO. "Their capabilities and commitment complement our firm's 86-year history of advising families, entrepreneurs and non-profits on their most important financial goals, and this acquisition aligns well with our focus on comprehensive, personal financial planning."

"Our partnership with Mesirow brings important benefits to our clients and firm," said Marshall B. Front, who founded the firm in 1994. "We will gain additional expertise and support in managing compliance, technology and administrative matters as we continue to seek competitive investment returns and deliver the high level of personalized financial advice and communications our clients expect."

The firms share important key characteristics. Both are independent and employee-owned, with long histories of building strong client relationships that last decades, often generations, and reputations for deep civic and community engagement.

"As we continue to focus on serving clients and driving strategic growth, Mesirow Wealth Management is pleased to partner with the talented professionals of Front Barnett," said Brian Price, Head of Mesirow Advisory Services. "We look forward to ongoing organic growth and continued momentum through potential future acquisitions in the wealth management space."

As of June 30, 2023, Front Barnett has more than $1.2 billion in assets under supervision. Mesirow has $256.6 billion in assets under supervision, including $56.8 billion in regulatory assets under management (i.e., securities).¹

About Mesirow
Mesirow is an independent, employee-owned financial services firm founded in 1937. Headquartered in Chicago, with offices around the world, we serve clients through a personal, custom approach to reaching financial goals and acting as a force for social good. With capabilities spanning Global Investment Management, Capital Markets & Investment Banking, and Advisory Services, we invest in what matters: our clients, our communities, and our culture.

Mesirow was recently named one of the Best Places to Work in Chicago by Crain's Chicago Business and one of the Top 100 RIA firms by Barron's. To learn more, visit mesirow.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

About Front Barnett
Front Barnett is a Chicago-based, employee-owned wealth management firm founded in 1994. The firm provides customized equity and fixed income investment management for high-net-worth and ultra-high-worth individuals and their related portfolios, striving to assist clients in achieving their financial goals through strong and enduring relationship, competitive risk-adjusted after-tax returns on assets under supervision. To learn more, visit front-barnett.com.

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^{1 Mesirow has $256.6 billion in assets under supervision as of 6.30.2023 unless otherwise noted. This comprises $142.5 billion in non-securities currency assets under management, $57.3 billion in assets under advisement and $56.8 billion in regulatory assets under management (i.e., securities).}

^{"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 $141.15 billion, (ii) non-fx overlay strategies such as equitization and beta overlays $713.60 million, and (iii) alpha strategies $633.50 million. 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 06.30.2023, the "unscaled" AUM for alpha strategies was $205.85 million.}

^{Award recognition disclosures: https://www.mesirow.com/award-recognition-disclosures}

SOURCE Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc.