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Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc.
wikipedia | 2013-07-09 13:03
Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc., a diversified financial services company, provides services in the areas of investment management, global markets, insurance, and consulting to institutions and public sector entities, corporations, individuals and families, broker/dealers, and investment advisors in the United States and internationally. The company operates primarily in divisions: Investment Management, Global Markets, Insurance Services, and Consulting. The Investment Management division provides services in the areas of alternative asset management, direct investment and fund of funds programs, currency and commodities management, fiduciary, institutional real estate multi-manager strategies.
History:
| 1937 | Norman Mesirow purchases a seat on the NYSE. |
| late1960s |
An Institutional Sales and Trading group is added to provide distribution and proprietary trading of fixed-income and equities, as well as equity underwriting and syndication. |
| early1970s |
Mesirow Financial enters the clearing business with Correspondent Services (which became Clearing Services), providing execution and clearing services to broker/dealers nationwide. |
| 1972 |
The NYSE allows member firms to offer life insurance. Mesirow Financial's Insurance Services division is created. |
| 1974 |
The Asset Management Group (now Equity Management and Fixed Income Management) is established to provide specialized investment advisory services to institutions and high net worth individuals. |
| 1980 | The Real Estate division is formed. |
| 1982 |
Private Equity and Investment Banking (including Corporate Finance, Public Finance and Sale-Leaseback Capital) are added to Mesirow Financial's portfolio of services. |
| 1990 |
Mesirow Financial introduces its Advanced Strategies capabilities. This business has since grown to become the third largest fund-of-hedge-funds manager in the world for pension assets, with more than $14 billion under management. |
| 1992 | Mesirow Financial reports its first year of record revenues. |
| 1997 | Mesirow Financial enhances its Real Estate capabilities with the acquisition of Stein & Company. |
| 2001 |
Mesirow Financial creates an Institutional Sales and Marketing team to help institutional investors and their consultants find solutions to match specific investment criteria. |
| 2003 |
Mesirow Financial assumes management of the Chicago-based accounts of Near North Insurance Brokerage, Inc. |
| 2004 |
The Currency Management department and Consulting division are established. Mesirow Financial acquires KPMG LLP's U.S. Corporate Recovery practice. Diane Swonk joins the firm as chief economist, launching the firm's Economic Analysis capabilities. |
| 2006 |
Mesirow Financial acquires Settlement Planning Associates, LLC (SPA), a boutique structured settlement firm, and creates our Structured Settlements group. Our Investment Strategies business is formed to provide asset allocation strategies and manager selection to institutions. This group now advises on more than $11 billion in assets. |
| 2007 |
Mesirow Financial celebrates its 70th anniversary. The Giles Organization joins our firm as Mesirow Financial Compensation and Executive Benefit Strategies. The firm launches Commodities Management and Institutional Real Estate businesses to offer additional strategies to our institutional clients. We open an office in London, expanding the firm's international presence and research capabilities. Our Economic Analysis team expands to offer insight on global economies and trends. |
| 2008 |
The firm launches a new corporate identity – the first redesign of the Mesirow Financial logo in almost 25 years, and a new tagline that reflects our culture of independence and innovation. |
| 2009 |
Mesirow Financial moves into our new corporate headquarters at 353 North Clark Street, an environmentally responsible state-of-the-art building that received gold-level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council under the LEED® for Core & Shell™ rating system. Mesirow Financial's interior space also received LEED gold certification. |
| 2010 |
The firm establishes a China market development initiative to align resources with Chinese businesses that invest in the U.S. and around the world. |
| 2011 |
The firm announces a joint venture in Abu Dhabi, focusing on Commodity and Currency Risk Management services, and opens an office in Hong Kong, further strengthening our ability to serve an increasingly global client base. Today, a full 60% of firm assets come from overseas, as well as 16% of our revenues. Richard S. Price is named Chairman and CEO, succeeding Jim Tyree, who passed away in March 2011. Our Agricultural Management group is created, expanding the firm's direct alternatives platform to include a farmland real asset strategy. |
