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Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth
Launched in Chicago in 1969, Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth was founded by Frederick O. Brownson and is now wholly owned by its four active principals.
Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth
Launched in Chicago in 1969, Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth was founded by Frederick O. Brownson and is now wholly owned by its four active principals. The firm operates as a de-facto chief financial officer for wealthy families, wrapping investment management together with estate planning, philanthropic structuring and counsel through complex life transitions. Its client base remains concentrated among multi-generational households that value a fiduciary approach untouched by outside shareholders. Asset allocation spans private equity, private credit, hedge funds, real estate and distressed opportunities. The firm runs the Wayside Drilling Program out of Oklahoma as an in-house direct-operation vehicle and commits capital across seed through Series C venture stages. Sectors in confirmed focus include healthcare services, consumer tech, enterprise software and ESG. Co-investor activity and fund commitments are coordinated from Chicago, while the Menlo Park office provides a permanent Bay Area presence for venture-stage sourcing. The firm also carries a longstanding membership in the Palm Beach Hedge Fund Association. Cardoza anchors the investment committee from Chicago, supported by additional offices in Tarrytown, New York, Naples, Florida and Menlo Park, California. He is a past chair of CFA Society Chicago and sits as an assistant treasurer of the Economic Club of Chicago; he and Shacklette are members of The Chicago Club. Philanthropic ties extend to the Roger J. Trinchero Family Foundation and the Windhover Foundation. The partnership — five named principals, four owning all voting equity — avoids the succession and incentive friction common at larger bank-owned multifamily offices. By coupling multi-asset discretionary mandates with a directly owned drilling program, the firm blends fiduciary counsel with exposure to hard-asset cash flows that most peer RIA platforms cannot replicate.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
1969
AUM
$4.3B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Chicago
Corporate office
227 West Monroe Street, Suite 1800, Chicago, IL, United States
Additional offices
Tarrytown, NY, United States · Naples, FL, United States · Menlo Park, CA, United States
Principals
Frederick O. Brownson
Founding Principal, 10% non-voting equity interest
Susan Mary Shacklette
President and Principal Owner
Keith Matthew Cardoza
Chief Investment Officer and Principal Owner
John Michael Lafferty
Chief Compliance Officer and Principal Owner
Harold Nelson Leavell III
Corporate Secretary and Principal Owner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth?
Chief Investment Officer Keith Matthew Cardoza, a principal owner, leads investment strategy. Susan Shacklette serves as president, and the full set of four voting principals — Cardoza, Shacklette, John Lafferty and Harold Leavell — controls the firm. Frederick Brownson, the original founder, retains a 10 percent non-voting equity stake.
How does the firm source deals, and does the Menlo Park office change that posture?
Sourcing leans on Cardoza's deep Chicago institutional network and the principals' multi-decade relationships. The Menlo Park office, located at 1550 El Camino Real, gives the firm a permanent Bay Area anchor for venture-stage investment, alongside a Naples office for East Coast family relationships and a Tarrytown, New York location for broader Northeast access.
What is the Wayside Drilling Program and how does it fit the portfolio?
The Wayside Drilling Program is an Oklahoma-based direct oil-and-gas operation run within the firm. It functions as a hard-asset, cash-flowing sleeve inside the multi-asset portfolios the firm constructs for its families — an uncommon structure for a multi-family office that otherwise behaves as an adviser and allocator.
Does the firm invest directly or through external funds?
It does both. The research record shows direct co-investments and in-house private equity alongside fund-of-funds commitments across venture capital, private equity, private credit, real estate and hedge funds. The firm also participates in seed through Series C stages, and carries a distressed-and-turnaround capability.
Which hands-on industry networks do the principals participate in?
Keith Cardoza serves as assistant treasurer of the Economic Club of Chicago and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago. He is a past chair of CFA Society Chicago. He and Susan Shacklette are members of The Chicago Club, and the firm is a listed member of the Palm Beach Hedge Fund Association.
How is Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth structured — family office or RIA?
It operates as a multi-family office that provides independent investment advice and comprehensive financial counseling, organized as a corporation wholly owned by its active principals. The governance is distinct from a bank-owned wealth manager: four principals own 90 percent of the voting equity and Frederick Brownson holds a 10 percent non-voting interest.
What philanthropic vehicles are affiliated with the firm?
The firm's families are tied to the Roger J. Trinchero Family Foundation and the Windhover Foundation. The principals counsel clients on philanthropic structuring as part of the broad CFO-style service, keeping charitable planning inside the same fiduciary framework as investment policy.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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