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Mendel Money Management
Barry Mendel founded the firm in 1989 after a decade working with large institutional investors, determined to deliver the same rigor to individuals and...
Mendel Money Management
Barry Mendel founded the firm in 1989 after a decade working with large institutional investors, determined to deliver the same rigor to individuals and families. He launched with four client households and roughly $7 million. In 2013, Brad Mendel joined the firm and formalized the hands-on advisory style into what the firm now calls its PersonalPath Planning Process. The firm remains anchored in Northbrook, Illinois, serving a concentrated client base that has grown to over 215 households. The firm builds multi-asset-class portfolios spanning small-cap equities, international stocks, high-yield bonds, commodities, and derivatives including futures and options. Mendel explicitly discloses the risk profiles of each sleeve, warning clients about the volatility and illiquidity inherent in micro-cap stocks, speculative derivatives, and below-investment-grade credit. The advisory work extends beyond portfolio management into tax-minimization strategies, retirement-income planning, and estate coordination with clients' attorneys — a personal CFO model rather than a pure asset-gathering shop. The geographic footprint is domestic, centered on the greater Chicago area. As of the most recent disclosures, Mendel Money Management reports approximately $293 million in assets under management. The firm operates as a small, family-owned team, with Barry Mendel as founder and Brad Mendel as a named principal who joined in 2013. May 2026: The firm published website updates reinforcing its PersonalPath Planning framework and disclosing the current AUM and client-household count. The firm does not advertise separate affiliated vehicles or external club memberships. Mendel Money Management's structural distinction is its refusal to scale beyond a single-family advisory practice. Unlike many registered investment advisers that layer on asset-gathering or product distribution, the firm has maintained a fixed-capacity model for more than 35 years. Succession is already embedded with the second generation fully integrated into the planning and client-relationship architecture.
General information
Firm type
Bank / Wealth / Trust
Year founded
1989
AUM
$293 million (per firm website, 2026)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Northbrook
Corporate office
Northbrook, IL, United States
Principals
Barry Mendel
Founder
Brad Mendel
Principal
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Mendel Money Management?
Founder Barry Mendel leads the investment approach, which he built after a decade of institutional asset-management experience. Brad Mendel, who joined in 2013, formalized the planning process but the firm does not separately name a CIO or investment committee on its public materials.
How does Mendel Money Management construct client portfolios?
The firm builds personalized portfolios across multiple asset classes, including small-cap equities, international stocks, high-yield bonds, commodities, and derivatives such as futures and options. Each asset class's risk characteristics are explicitly disclosed to clients, and the firm combines the portfolio construction with integrated tax, retirement, and estate planning.
Does Mendel Money Management manage money for institutions or only individuals?
Mendel advises individuals, families, retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporations, though its public narrative emphasizes relationships with households. The firm's origin story is rooted in delivering institutional-caliber investment management to individual clients.
Is Mendel Money Management a single-family office?
No. It is an Illinois-based registered investment adviser and wealth-management firm serving multiple client households. While it is family-run, it is not a single-family office; it provides advisory and portfolio management services to over 215 households.
What is the PersonalPath Planning Process?
PersonalPath is Mendel's structured client-advisory framework, introduced when Brad Mendel joined the firm in 2013. It proceeds in stages — an introductory call, a deeper discovery meeting, and collaborative plan building after onboarding — and is designed to adapt as a client's life circumstances evolve.
What asset classes does Mendel Money Management explicitly caution clients about?
The firm's own website disclosures single out small-cap and micro-cap stocks, high-yield bonds, commodities, international equities, and futures and options as carrying elevated risk. For example, it warns that many micro-cap and penny stocks provide little or no reward to speculators and that junk bonds carry equity-like risk profiles.
Does Mendel Money Management operate outside Illinois?
The firm is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, and its public materials emphasize serving clients in the Chicago area. No additional offices or out-of-state locations are disclosed.
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