Mesirow, a Chicago-based and 100% employee-owned financial services firm overseeing more than $250 billion across three core business lines, has appointed Brian Price as CEO of the wealth management business. Price has been serving as interim CEO of the division since November 2022.
Since then, Price has overseen asset growth of more than $1.5 billion and the introduction of an acquisition strategy. He orchestrated the firm’s acquisition of Front Barnett Associates, a local RIA with about $1.2 billion in client assets, in September.
Price joined Mesirow in 2006 and has previously served as president and COO of investment banking and head of advisory services. With the official title, he continues to be responsible for strategy and growth, as well as market positioning of the private wealth business, which currently represents more than $10 billion in client assets. He is also a member of Mesirow’s board of directors.
"Over the past year, under Brian's leadership, our offering to clients has expanded through new capabilities and the acquisition of Front Barnett, a leading RIA," Mesirow CEO Natalie Brown said in a statement. "We look forward to ongoing organic growth and continued momentum through potential future acquisitions and strategic hires under Brian's leadership."
At the time of the Front Barnett acquisition, Price told Wealthmanagement.com he hoped that deal would be the first of many and said the firm was in talks with “several” potential targets but that no additional announcements were expected in the first quarter of 2024.
The firm is seeking to buy practices in specific geographic areas, including Florida, California, Arizona, Nashville and the Midwest, and that have between $150 million and $1.5 billion in client assets.
“We will sometimes go smaller or larger, depending on the team, the culture and the strategy of the firm we’re looking at,” Price said.
The focus is on full acquisitions, but Mesirow is open to making minority investments in firms that are cultural fits. Deals tend to be all cash, but each employee is given an opportunity to buy equity, and Price said 100% of voting stock is owned by firm employees.
There is no specific growth goal, and Price doesn’t anticipate seeking external funding in the near term but did not rule out the eventual possibility.
"We're working on adding new services and technology for our clients," he said, in an interview Wednesday. For instance, the firm added an estate planning specialist in December.
"The way we approach innovation is basically about trying to identify all the services our clients will need as they make their way through life. That is what drove us to add this estate planning support—really enhancing the capabilities we currently have, and we'll continue to do that with tax planning support, investment research and client reporting.”
Founded by Norman Mesirow as a wealth management shop in 1937, Mesirow Financial Holdings now encompasses wealth management and global investment management businesses, as well as capital markets and investment banking. The firm has 17 offices in the continental U.S. and locations in Puerto Rico, London and Hong Kong.