LP profile

Mesirow

Corporate · Founded 1937 · Chicago, United States

#126 LP Ranking #9 of 2,577 corporate and insurance LPs

Independent, boutique asset management firm based in london with an office in hong kong;

Website ↗LinkedIn ↗X / Twitter ↗

53 VC firms backed

$56B AUM

01 · Background

Who Mesirow is.

Historical Background: Mesirow was established in 1937 by Norman Mesirow in Chicago, Illinois. The firm is a privately held, 100% employee-owned entity, with all voting shares held by its employees. In 2022, Natalie Brown was appointed as the sixth CEO, becoming the first woman to lead the company in its history.
Source of Capital: Mesirow provides investment solutions to a diverse client base that includes public and private pension plans, insurance companies, endowments, and high-net-worth individuals. The firm's capital is derived from its advisory and investment management services offered to both institutional and retail clients.
Major Events: In January 2025, MetLife Investment Management entered into an agreement to acquire three of Mesirow's investment teams focusing on high yield and bank loans, strategic fixed income, and small-cap equity. Mesirow acquired Bastion Management, a specialty finance lender focused on asset-backed loans, in December 2024 to expand its private credit offerings. The firm sold its multi-manager hedge fund division, Mesirow Advanced Strategies, to Lighthouse Investment Partners. Mesirow expanded its wealth management capabilities through the acquisition of Front Barnett, a firm with $1.2 billion in assets under management.
Allocation Strategy: The firm's investment activities are structured across three primary divisions: Global Investment Management, Capital Markets and Investment Banking, and Advisory Services. Mesirow engages in both alternative and traditional investment strategies, with a focus on private equity, real estate, and private credit. The private equity strategy targets high-quality funds through both primary investments and secondary market acquisitions to mitigate risk. The firm's real estate activities include a value-add fund series that invests in multifamily properties across the United States.

Sources

02 · Fund commitments

The funds Mesirow backs.

Mesirow is a limited partner in 53 funds. 11 of them place in the Power Law Investor Ranking; those lead, best-ranked first.

Accel

United States

#4 Power Law

Lightspeed Venture Partners

United States

#7 Power Law

New Enterprise Associates

ABRY Partners

United States

Apax Partners

United Kingdom

BC Partners

United Kingdom

CVC Capital Partners

Luxembourg

EQT Group

Sweden

Hellman & Friedman

United Kingdom

Vitruvian Partners

United Kingdom

03 · Allocation

How Mesirow’s fund book is spread.

The 53 funds Mesirow backs, by where the manager is headquartered and how many funds that manager has raised.

Where those managers are based

By fund headquarters.

North America 4789%
Europe 611%

United States 47 · United Kingdom 4 · Luxembourg 1 · Sweden 1

How established those managers are

Managers grouped by how many funds they have raised — across the 40 of 53 with a fund history on record.

Emerging funds · 11

Established funds · 29

2 1

2 2

7 3

2 4

7 5-6

9 7-9

3 10-14

8 15+

Funds raised by the manager

04 · Direct investments

The companies Mesirow backs directly.

Mesirow holds 2 companies directly, separate from the funds it commits to as a limited partner.

Wastequip

Engineering and Manufacturing Equipment · USA

Price Wealth Management

USA

05 · Other LPs

Other LPs.

Other corporate and insurance LPs in the Power Law LP ranking, closest to Mesirow by combined power-law score — North America first, then the nearest worldwide.

🇺🇸

Brighthouse Financial

LP rank #32 · United States

$235B AUM 56 VC funds backed

🇺🇸

PRIM

LP rank #34 · United States

$116B AUM 103 VC funds backed

🇬🇧

Invesco

LP rank #85 · United Kingdom

$1.8T AUM 64 VC funds backed