About Us
Our History
Since 1975, GCG Financial, LLC, has been a trusted partner for our clients. Our mission has been to enhance the financial security of the businesses and families we serve through exceptional employee benefits, risk management, and wealth management solutions.
In 2017, GCG Financial and 23 other like- minded, entrepreneurial firms came together to form Alera Group. Since then, Alera Group has grown to over 4,400 employees, 160+ locations, and thousands of clients across the country.
In 2022, we officially began embracing the Alera Group brand. What remains consistent is holding our clients at the core of our business; we focus on bringing personalized solutions, expanding our capabilities, and deepening our resources nationally.
Our Team
Trusted. Smart. Passionate.
Our team has a sincere commitment to the long- term success of our clients. With an emphasis on collaboration and teamwork, we create unique solutions that fit the distinct needs of each client. We are passionate about doing what is right for every client, driven by the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, integrity, character, fairness, trust, and confidence.
Our Presence
Our clients benefit from the expertise and resources of a large national firm, while still maintaining the advantages of local service and relationships. We leverage powerful relationships, industry experience, and resources with the goal of supporting our clients’ business strategies and elevating the experience of working with us.
Above all, our firm believes in empowering people – our clients, our team, and the individuals in the communities where we live and work.
We are headquartered in Deerfield, IL, with offices throughout Illinois and Colorado, along with more than 160 Alera Group locations across the country. Wherever you are, we can meet your needs.
Investment advisory services offered through Alera Investment Advisors, LLC. Securities offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC. Osaic Wealth is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of Osaic Wealth.
Meet Our Team
Michael Engelhardt
Vice President, Benefits Consulting | Employee Benefits
Having specialized in Health & Welfare for over 20 years, Michael has designed an approach that is truly unique. He’s designed an approach to benefits that leverages the principles of LEAN, to improve efficiencies and drive greater outcomes for his clients.
At a time when employers often change carriers to improve pricing or benefits, Michael helps his customers maintain their current programs and enjoy both improvements in costs and benefits. He does this by leveraging the numerous Advanced Healthcare Strategies, that he’s continuously vetting out and validating as part of the AHS Vertical at The Alera Group. The less obvious outcome of his services is Michael ultimately helps to reduce the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), for the employees and dependents of his clients, and supports their journey towards Health Equity.
In addition to his market knowledge from over 20 years in the insurance industry, Michael is a regular speaker on a wide range of industry related topics, including cost containment strategies, healthcare captives, benchmarking and underwriting strategies. His client-centric service model is supported by best-in-class analytics, communications, legal, actuarial and technology deliverables.
Michael is the President of the Chicagoland chapter of the University of Illinois Alumni Association, is a past Board Member of the Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Board, where we served as Chairperson. He lives in Sugar Grove with his wife and four children, enjoys an active lifestyle and is an avid Illini Sports fan.
Education: B.S. Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Teddy Felker
Senior Partner, Private Equity Practice, Property & Casualty
Teddy Felker is a fourth-generation insurance broker based out of Alera’s headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois. He brokers the following lines of coverage for medium to large sized businesses:
- Directors & Officers (D&O)
- Property & Casualty: Workers’ Compensation, General Liability, Auto, Property, Umbrella
- Professional Liability / Errors & Omissions (E&O)
- Cyber
- Pollution / Environmental
Teddy represents many Private Equity firms throughout the US. His team performs pre-close due diligence; places Reps & Warranties insurance; and places go-forward / post-close insurance programs for the new ownership group.
Teddy began his career at Marsh in New York and San Francisco before joining Alera in 2012. He lives in Glencoe, Illinois with his wife and four children.
Education: B.A., Political Science, University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Bruce Friedman
Senior Vice President, Wealth Services
Bruce focuses his practice on helping people who are going through difficult transitions, such as divorce, death of a spouse, and personal injury matters including special needs, trusts, and those involving other business owners. He is sensitive to those with budgeting needs, investment management or insurance issues and seeks to find solutions designed to protect his clients.
Bruce participates frequently at a number of conferences, including the Illinois State Bar Association- Family Law Section, The Chicago Bar Association-Family Law Section, The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, American Banking Institute, Cannon Trust School, and various think tank discussions. Bruce has worked in the financial industry since 1989. He began his career at Northern Trust in Chicago, specializing in Large Corporate ERISA as well as Personal Trust and Investment Management. Bruce is former Chairman of the City of Highland Park Traffic Commission and a member of The Chicago Estate Planning Council.
Bruce and his wife live in Highland Park, Illinois. He is a passionate traveler who enjoys exploring new places with his family. Bruce is also active in tennis and pickle and is an avid fisherman. He is now a Board member of Building Peaceful Bridges, an organization helping refugees integrate into American culture.
Education: B.A., Syracuse University; Divorce Mediation Training, Northwestern University.
Investment advisory services offered through Alera Investment Advisors, LLC. Securities offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC. Osaic Wealth is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of Osaic Wealth.
Cory Friedman, CBC
Senior Partner, Benefits Consulting | Employee Benefits
Cory Friedman is a Senior Partner of the firm’s Benefits Consulting practice. Cory specializes in the small group and mid-market segments, and has developed considerable expertise working in the veterinary industry.
Cory works to provide guidance and objective analysis of group insurance benefits, and is currently responsible for the health insurance and employee benefit programs of hundreds of privately held organizations across the country.
In 2016, Cory was selected as a Young Gun Award recipient by Insurance Business America, which recognizes young professionals making a significant impact in the insurance industry. Cory was also named a “Rising Star” in 2017 and 2018 by Employee Benefit Adviser, earning recognition as one of 20 advisers nationally age 35 and younger who exhibit quick thinking, openness to change, and the ability to navigate the ever-changing employee benefit landscape. In 2021, Cory was selected as an “Excellence in Benefits” Award Recipient by Employee Benefit News (EBN), one of only 4 standout advisors recognized nationally.
Cory lives in Chicago, Illinois and enjoys spending time with his family. He also likes playing hockey, interior design and architecture/real estate, classic cars, reading, and writing.
Education: B.S. Finance, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Resources
Alera Group Spends The Week Giving Back
In the spirit of our Generous Community Giving program, Alera Group employees participated in a week of events, both in-person and virtually, for our 2023 Community Giving week.
Chicago Housing Authority Hiring Fair
Alera Group colleagues spent the day at the Chicago Housing Authority Job Fair reviewing resumes, helping with interview prep, working on communication skills, and offering general insights and advice to people just starting their professional careers. It was time well spent helping others in the community both professionally and personally.
Feed My Starving Children
The Alera Group team volunteering with Feed My Starving Children had a positive experience measuring, bagging, weighing, sealing, and packing meals for children over the course of an afternoon. Not only did they feel like they made a difference in the lives of others, but they also enjoyed using the time as a teambuilding exercise to work with colleagues outside of their department.
Lyman Woods Nature Center
Alera Group volunteers rolled up their sleeves to beautify the nature preserve by building a new fence and cleaning up the trails for the community to enjoy now that the weather has warmed up. Despite being a physically demanding morning, everyone agreed it was a rewarding experience.
Send virtual cards to patients at St. Jude
Our remote teammates were able to participate in Community Giving Week as well! They wrote dozens of encouraging notes to patients undergoing treatment for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
The Alera Group volunteers not only gave their time and energy to make a positive impact on our communities, but unanimously agreed that they had a great time while doing it!
Alera Group’s 2023 Office 5k Raises Money for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
On October 12 we laced up our sneakers as part of our Generous Community Giving initiative. This year’s annual 5k included a record number of participants who enjoyed running and walking the outdoor course at our Deerfield, Illinois headquarters as well as a step challenge for remote employees. To keep things interesting, we added a new 5k relay event consisting of teams of four colleagues for some additional friendly competition.
The proceeds of the money raised this year benefits Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Their mission is to improve lives by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent, and treat type 1 diabetes (T1D).
The day was billed a success as the rain clouds held off long enough for us to support an important cause while enjoying the company of our fellow team members.
An Alera Group Care Package
Alera Group colleagues came together last month to enjoy a lunch and celebrate our shared successes in 2023. The day had a bigger purpose though, as we rolled up our sleeves to kickoff our first Generous Community Giving event in the new year with nonprofit group, Blessings in a Backpack.
Blessings in a Backpack mobilizes communities, individuals, and resources to provide food on the weekends for school-aged children across America who might otherwise go hungry. By the end of the afternoon, over 100 Alera Group colleagues had packed 500 bags! Not only was it rewarding to collaborate on a physical task together, but we were thrilled to know that our work would ensure children in our community would not go hungry that weekend.
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Employee Benefits
2025 Healthcare and Employee Benefits Benchmarking Report: How Does Your Benefits Program Stack Up?
In this session, our experts will dive into the results of our annual, market-leading benchmarking survey.
June 26, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
Dynamic Data: Strategies for Success
Join us for this session, as our experts will share how to utilize your organization’s data to create advanced and innovative strategies for success.
July 17, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Wealth Services
State of the Markets
Join us as we unveil the factors that drive the nation's financial pulse and how they may impact your personal finances.
July 23, 2025 at 12:00 pm CT | Virtual
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Wealth Services
Weekly Market Update
Stocks pushed higher last week as investors cheered the White House’s constructive comments on trade, upbeat Q1 corporate reports, and an encouraging jobs report.
May 5, 2025
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Employee Benefits
IRS Releases 2026 HSA Contribution Limits and HDHP Deductible and Out-of-Pocket Limits
In Rev. Proc. 2025-19, the IRS released the inflation adjusted amounts for 2026 relevant to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). The table below summarizes those adjustments and other applicable limits.
May 5, 2025
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Property and Casualty
Severe Weather Is Getting Worse. Is Your Business Interruption Insurance Keeping Up?
The increasing frequency and severity of weather- and climate-related events such as catastrophic storms, floods and wildfires make business continuity planning more important than ever. Part of your plan should include reviewing your organization's Business Interruption Insurance coverage.
May 5, 2025
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Employee Benefits
A Challenge for Mental Health Awareness Month: Make It Enjoyable
Achieving and maintaining wellbeing takes work, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable and even fun. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and with that comes Alera Group’s annual Mental Health Awareness Toolkit, this year featuring something we believe employers and their entire organizations will really enjoy: the 31-Day Challenge for Positive Wellbeing.
April 29, 2025
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