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 4,200 employees, 190+ 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 150 Alera Group locations across the country. Wherever you are, we can meet your needs.
Meet Our Team
Clay P. Hessel, RHU®
Senior Vice President, Wealth Services
Clay specializes in helping individuals and families establish financial goals and exploring alternatives to achieving them. Clay has been passionate about developing financial strategies and employee benefits since joining the firm in 1994. He is a specialist in helping enhance financial security and create wealth through personal and corporate benefit packages that include investment management, life, disability and health insurance as well as retirement strategies. Clay employs a disciplined and strategic approach that strives to maximize potential returns while minimizing overall risk and volatility within a portfolio. He prides himself on being a thoughtful communicator who intuitively educates his clients in areas of risk management and wealth accumulation, as a result, clients gain a peace of mind by understanding their options. Clay specializes in working with physicians, professionals, executives, business owners and corporations, and speaks to over 100 medical programs and corporations annually.
Clay has consistently been distinguished as a top advisor among his peers. He has received numerous awards and accolades for his successful practice, including qualification for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors’ National Quality Award*, along with firm's prestigious Pinnacle Club and Leaders Club.
Clay lives in Vernon Hills, Illinois with his wife, daughter, son, and dog. He enjoys exercising, yoga, competitive golf, reading, traveling and participates in several charitable organizations including Cycle for Survival and the Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. Clay also serves on the Northshore University Health System Planned Giving Advisor Counsel.
Education: BS in Advertising and a minor in Psychology from Bradley University
Credentials: Certificate in Financial Planning from DePaul University, holds registrations for FINRA series 6, 7, 63, 65 and is life, health and disability insurance licensed
*Awards and club membership are based primarily on commissions, premiums, or fees generated from investment and insurance products and other criteria relative to leadership, achievement, and recruiting.
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.
CA license # 0C28656
Bob Janson, CIMA®, AIF®
Director of Investments
Bob joined the firm in 1997 and is Director of Investments for Alera Group Retirement Plan Services. He heads the firm’s Retirement Plan Investment Committee and is responsible for the investment due diligence activities related to Alera Group’s company sponsored retirement plan clients. Bob works with the firm’s retirement plan consultants to deliver timely and prudent investment expertise and knowledge to help clients make informed decisions on behalf of their retirement plan participants and fiduciaries.
Bob approaches retirement plan investment consulting by focusing on the fiduciary needs of the plan sponsor and the retirement readiness of the plan participants. A properly developed investment menu with a prudent selection and monitoring process and an emphasis on sound investment strategies can help provide the fiduciary support plan sponsors require while encouraging successful retirement savings strategies for plan participants.
Bob has been developing his investment knowledge for over 30 years. Prior to joining the firm his background includes working with Blunt, Ellis, & Loewi, Charles Schwab Institutional, and Retirement and Estate Advisors. Through his experience, he has gained a solid understanding regarding the balance between the goals of the client and the ever-changing nature of the markets.
Bob received a Bachelor of Business Administration - Finance degree from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. His professional designations include Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®), and Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®).
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.
Philip Karlo
Risk Management Consultant | Property & Casualty
Philip Karlo is a Risk Management Consultant at the firm. As part of the Risk Management team, Philip’s primary goal is to build long lasting relationships with clients and help identify risk transfer needs and provide solutions by selecting appropriate Insurance products. Philip provides his clients a wealth of information from his diverse business experience that help to differentiate him as a risk management consultant.
Prior to joining the team, Philip spent 15 years working in the banking industry, where he held a variety of different positions. Philip started his career as a client service representative, followed by becoming a relationship banker then was promoted into a management position. Ultimately Philip became a Financial Compliance Officer. Philip brings expertise in sales, leadership, risk management and insurance to his clients giving them a well-rounded perspective on how to properly protect their businesses to achieve their financial goals.
Philip does volunteer work with an organization called Junior Achievements and mentors K-12th grade students gain practical work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills through simulations and activities. Outside of the office, Philip is currently a resident of East Dundee and enjoys hobbies such as golfing, biking, running and playing with his son.
Gary Kirshenbaum
Vice President and Director, Global Trade Risk Management | Property & Casualty
Gary Kirshenbaum is a Vice President and Director of Global Trade Risk Management (GTRM). Under his guidance, GTRM provides companies the ability to strategically manage their commercial trade risk, both domestic and export, as well as to mitigate political risk involving international business investments.
Gary has over 15 years of experience in trade credit insurance in addition to nine years as a lender in commercial finance. He possesses a deep knowledge of how to utilize credit to minimize risk and maximize growth and banking relationships for his clients. Through this risk management expertise, Gary’s focus is to protect his clients’ money.
Additionally, having owned and run a family business for 10 years, Gary understands the everyday struggles of cash flow along with the credit risk that companies face when their accounts receivable, potentially the largest asset on their balance sheet, is in jeopardy.
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
Meeting the Needs of an Aging Workforce
Our experts will provide tips and insights about how to incorporate Medicare, menopause benefits, retirement, communications best practices and other hot topics for older workers into your program successfully and without breaking the bank.
October 17, 2024 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.
October 23, 2024 at 11:00 am CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
When Captive Insurance Makes Sense
In this session, our experts will talk about how captives work, the advantages and disadvantages and what you need to know to determine whether they make sense for your organization.
November 21, 2024 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Property and Casualty
Umbrella Insurance for Businesses: Peace of Mind in an Increasingly Unpredictable World
Whereas a skilled agent can help provide businesses with adequate insurance against property losses by following a predictable formula, the unpredictability of liability claims underscores how important it is for businesses to buy as much Umbrella/Excess Liability coverage as they can afford.
September 18, 2024
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Wealth Services
Weekly Market Update
Stocks rallied last week as investors received better-than-expected consumer and producer inflation data.
September 16, 2024
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Wealth Services
Monthly Market and Economic Update - August 2024
Read about the latest insights on the market and economy from our Director of Investments, Bob Janson.
September 12, 2024
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General Liability Insurance in 2024: Navigating a Complex Landscape
While some aspects of General Liability Insurance have largely turned a corner from a prolonged hard market, the outlook in other areas looks much less cheery. Overall, the market has finally improved after several challenging years, offering signs of stabilization.
September 12, 2024
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