About Neal
Neal has been advising clients on the stewardship of their wealth and other financial needs since 1988. Prior to founding Strategic Wealth Partners (SWP) in 2008, he was a senior managing director with Mesirow Financial. Earlier in his career, he was with Kemper Securities (now Wells Fargo) and Arthur Andersen. Neal joined Focus Partners Wealth in 2026.
With the evolution of a confusing marketplace and complex industry, Neal is energized by helping clients sort through the facts and the misinformation they encounter when seeking to achieve their financial goals. Whether his client is worried about not having enough through retirement or concerned about losing family values by having too much wealth, Neal feels a serious responsibility to fulfill each client’s unique objectives. As Neal has been working with some of his clients for decades, he finds deep gratification from seeing planning unfold that was done many years ago.
The feeling of helping to make a difference in others’ lives is what drives Neal to be a loyal advocate for his clients and a leader in the community. Neal has enjoyed coaching youth baseball and mentoring college students, and he has been involved with a variety of not-for-profit organizations for more than 30 years. Currently Neal spends a significant amount of his time mentoring and developing the skills of the firm’s next generation of advisors and staff.
Neal is very involved in his community. He is on the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, the Dean’s Business Council for the University of Illinois Gies College of Business, the Board of Directors for Northmoor Country Club, and the Charles Schwab TOS (Technology, Operations & Service) Advisory Board.
A native Chicagoan, Neal still lives in Chicago’s Northern suburbs with his wife Laurie. He is the proud dad of two grown sons, both of whom followed in the family’s proud Illini tradition. In his free time Neal especially enjoys travel, golf, and spending time in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Education and Professional Milestones
-University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign – bachelor’s degree in accountancy
-Northwestern University JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management – master of business administration
Neal has been advising clients on the stewardship of their wealth and other financial needs since 1988. Prior to founding Strategic Wealth Partners (SWP) in 2008, he was a senior managing director with Mesirow Financial. Earlier in his career, he was with Kemper Securities (now Wells Fargo) and Arthur Andersen. Neal joined Focus Partners Wealth in 2026.
With the evolution of a confusing marketplace and complex industry, Neal is energized by helping clients sort through the facts and the misinformation they encounter when seeking to achieve their financial goals. Whether his client is worried about not having enough through retirement or concerned about losing family values by having too much wealth, Neal feels a serious responsibility to fulfill each client’s unique objectives. As Neal has been working with some of his clients for decades, he finds deep gratification from seeing planning unfold that was done many years ago.
The feeling of helping to make a difference in others’ lives is what drives Neal to be a loyal advocate for his clients and a leader in the community. Neal has enjoyed coaching youth baseball and mentoring college students, and he has been involved with a variety of not-for-profit organizations for more than 30 years. Currently Neal spends a significant amount of his time mentoring and developing the skills of the firm’s next generation of advisors and staff.
Neal is very involved in his community. He is on the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, the Dean’s Business Council for the University of Illinois Gies College of Business, the Board of Directors for Northmoor Country Club, and the Charles Schwab TOS (Technology, Operations & Service) Advisory Board.
A native Chicagoan, Neal still lives in Chicago’s Northern suburbs with his wife Laurie. He is the proud dad of two grown sons, both of whom followed in the family’s proud Illini tradition. In his free time Neal especially enjoys travel, golf, and spending time in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Education and Professional Milestones
-University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign – bachelor’s degree in accountancy
-Northwestern University JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management – master of business administration