Confiance Investment Counsel, LLC

Confiance Investment Counsel, LLC

Confiance Investment Counsel was founded by Michael McGrath in 2012 in Chicago. McGrath previously worked at Mesirow Financial, where he led the firm's alternative investment practice. The firm was formed to provide institutional-quality investment management to a select group of clients, including family offices and endowments. The firm's investment strategy spans private credit, hedge funds, and real estate. Confiance invests through both fund commitments and directly originated deals. Private credit exposures include direct lending and distressed debt strategies. Hedge fund allocations focus on event-driven and relative value managers. Real estate investments target opportunistic and value-add opportunities across US markets. Confiance operates from a single Chicago office. The firm's team size is not publicly disclosed. Unlike many RIAs, Confiance maintains a concentrated client base and does not publicly market its AUM. The firm has not formed separate philanthropic vehicles or operating companies disclosed in public record. Confiance's structural differentiator is its focus on alternative assets as the core of its investment approach, rather than as an allocation overlay. The firm operates as a traditional RIA but with a portfolio construction model that treats alternatives as primary building blocks. This positions Confiance closer in posture to a family office than to a conventional wealth manager.