Financial Solutions Advisory Group

James E. Craven, the founder and Managing Principal, leads all structuring and advisory decisions. His background includes debt-origination roles at LaSalle Bank and Cohen Financial, where he developed expertise in institutional credit underwriting for commercial real estate. The firm's boutique structure means Craven is directly involved in negotiating terms with lenders and guiding sponsors through the capital-stack process.

No. Despite the name, the firm is not a family office or a discretionary asset manager. It operates as a specialized middle-market real estate debt-advisory and placement firm. It does not manage pooled capital for a family or outside investors; instead, it acts as an intermediary matching real estate sponsors with lending institutions.

FSAG's deal flow comes primarily from repeat middle-market real estate operators and developers in the Chicago area and broader Midwest. The firm's longevity and James Craven's institutional lender relationships mean many engagements are direct referrals from past clients. They do not run a marketed sourcing engine dependent on investment bankers or broad auction processes.

The firm neither participates in fund commitments nor makes principal investments. Its function is strictly advisory: it structures, negotiates, and places single-asset debt and preferred equity for individual real estate transactions. This pure-agency posture distinguishes it from firms that mix advisory work with discretionary fund management.

The firm arranges senior mortgages, bridge loans, construction financing, mezzanine debt, and preferred equity. Its lender network spans life insurance companies, regional banks, credit unions, and private credit funds. Transaction sizes generally fall between $5 million and $50 million, targeting middle-market sponsors who need institutional-caliber structuring without Wall Street scale.