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
Michael Marino
Wealth Advisor | Wealth Services
Michael brings eight plus years of providing wealth services for his clients. Michael enjoys working alongside business owners, executives and professionals in several industries, including but not limited to medicine and professional sports (golf).
He strives to meet the needs of all his individual and family clients in the areas of insurance planning, investment advisory, college funding, estate planning, transferring assets and retirement strategies. He also works separately as a financial planner if his clients desire a comprehensive fee-based financial plan.
As an avid sportsman, Michael is a scratch handicap in golf, often entertaining clients and friends on public and private golf courses throughout the Chicagoland area. One of his goals is to play as many of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the United States as possible. When not found on the golf course in the warmer months, Michael is most likely spending time with his wife Lisa, their daughter Poppy, and four pets. Having two dogs and two cats keeps his personal life full of adventure, making many road trips across the country with the entire pack!
Education: B.S., Business, Pennsylvania State University.
Investment Advisory Services offered through Alera Investment Advisors, LLC. Securities offered through Triad Advisors, LLC., Member FINRA/SIPC. Triad Advisors LLC is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of Triad Advisors.
Ben May, CIC, CBC
Senior Benefits Consultant | Employee Benefits
Ben May is a Senior Benefits Consultant with the firm. He focuses primarily on small- and mid-sized businesses. Ben’s expertise centers around the design, funding, communication, administration, and compliance of employee benefit programs. Ben focuses on making clients comfortable, and he takes the time to learn and understand their unique business to meet their challenges effectively. This approach allows Ben to create a first-class benefits program to provide outside-the-box solutions that solve these challenges.
Ben has extensive experience in the employee benefits industry, including a previous role as the Director of Sales in the Benefits Division with Hallberg Commercial and Group Health.
Outside of work, Ben is an athletic board member at St. Pius X School and volunteers as a coach for soccer, basketball and baseball. Ben currently resides in Lombard, IL with wife, Julie, and children Riley, Haley, Colin and Jack. He enjoys coaching his kids and staying active playing basketball, softball, and soccer.
Education: BA, Finance and Accounting, Illinois State University.
Certifications: CIC, CBC
Alan J. Nerad
Senior Wealth Advisor | Wealth Services
Alan joined the firm in 2003. Alan works closely with his clients to develop, implement and monitor financial, retirement and health insurance strategies. After graduate school, Alan became a researcher and consultant with McGraw-Hill/London House, a leading firm specializing in employee selection, surveys and management, and executive assessment. He then went on to consult in the automotive industry. His primary focus was to provide insurance products, services, and training to the finance and insurance departments. Alan is a member of the board of the Lincolnshire Morningstar Rotary and serves on several committees. Alan currently serves as assistant scoutmaster as well as a member of the Troop Committee for Boy Scout Troop 78 in Lincolnshire.
Alan and his wife live in Lincolnshire, IL with their three children. Alan enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, reading and tackling as many home improvement projects as possible.
Education: B.S., Psychology, University of Wisconsin; M.S., Industrial/Organizational Psychology, St. Louis University
Investment Advisory Services offered through Alera Investment Advisors, LLC. Securities offered through Triad Advisors, LLC., Member FINRA/SIPC. Triad Advisors LLC is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of Triad Advisors.
Marcus B. Newman, RHU, CBC
Vice President, Employee Benefits
Since joining the firm in 1997, Marcus has focused on serving small businesses. He is responsible for more than 200 privately held businesses, medical practices, and physicians. Marcus provides expert and objective guidance with respect to group insurance benefits of all kinds, 401(k) and other salary deferral plans, pension and profit-sharing plans, deferred compensation plans, executive benefits, and a wide variety of investments for closely held business owners.
Marcus is an annual qualifier for the Million Dollar Round Table. He is the youngest firm advisor ever elected to the Executive Board of the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.
Before joining the firm, Marcus spent several years working with teenagers as a social worker. Marcus is the Founder and President of Array Education, Inc., an organization committed to the prevention of teenage substance abuse and addiction through a wide variety of programs that help young people make responsible, informed decisions about drugs and alcohol.
Marcus lives in Deerfield, Illinois with his wife and three daughters. He spends considerable time with his family and is a fitness enthusiast. Marcus is an avid reader and a patron of the theater.
Education: B.A., Philosophy, Northeastern Illinois 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
[Alera Engage] Benchmarking for the Win: How Does Your Benefits Program Rate?
Ask our clients about the No.1 tool that helps them develop an impactful benefits program, and they'll tell you it's benchmarking.
July 18, 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.
July 24, 2024 at 11:00 am CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
Driving Communications and Engagement: Open Enrollment
Our experts will walk you through a strategic planning process to make sure you’re sharing in a way that not only drives employee awareness and engagement but also reaches your workforce across platforms with what they need to know about choosing the right benefits for them and their families.
August 15, 2024 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Wealth Services
Weekly Market Update
Stocks finished the last week of June and Q2 mixed as investors digested a fresh round of economic data.
July 1, 2024
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Employee Benefits
Benefits Benchmarking Webinar: What To Do With the Data
If you’re designing your company’s employee benefits program, you want to know what your peers and competitors are offering. Employee retention and talent acquisition are largely dependent on whether you offer a benefits package that meets or exceeds the standards of your industry, location and company size while managing costs in an increasingly expensive market for healthcare and pharmaceuticals. That’s why Alera Group places a high priority on using benchmarking data and analysis to inform and otherwise serve our clients.
July 1, 2024
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Property and Casualty
Surety: Market Stable for Time-Proven Protection
Surety bonds not only help prequalify contractors — saving valuable project time and money — but also help ensure superior performance compared to construction projects without bonds.
June 26, 2024
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Wealth Services
Weekly Market Update
Stocks edged higher over the four trading days last week, with the three major averages taking turns leading based on various economic and artificial intelligence (AI) news.
June 24, 2024
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