Joe Silich
Silich Family Endowed Scholarship
Joe Silich attributes his success in advising the global high net worth community to three core themes: Experience, effective communication, and superior service. He works toward achieving clients’ financial goals through astute financial planning and discerning wealth management. From a humble start three decades ago, his private wealth business has steadily expanded to more than $1.2 billion in assets under management as of August 2019.
Joe heads The Silich Group at Morgan Stanley, a preeminent wealth advising team in downtown Chicago. For the past 29 years, he and his team have applied first-class knowledge and service in delivering wealth management plans for high net worth individuals and families. This management is blended with financial planning, tax sensitivity, and estate planning strategies that help ensure every piece of the client’s financial puzzle is working harmoniously.
In navigating their clients through the phases of wealth accumulation and preservation, The Silich Group’s goal is to bring best-in-class service. Passion, experience, and attention to detail are hallmarks of Silich Group relationships. Their mantra is simple: Wealth advising through client intimacy distinguished by openness, efficiency and advice delivered in a unique style. Success is not only determined by statistical measures of performance, but also by clients’ ability to achieve their goals.
A lifelong Chicagoan, Joe resides in the Lincoln Park neighborhood with his wife Susie, his two daughters Ava and Isla, and his bird hunting Labrador Retrievers, Traxx and Dodge. He received a bachelor’s degree in finance from DePaul University. He worked at Northern Trust Bank’s Private Wealth Division before joining Morgan Stanley in 1990.
Acclaimed Financial Advisor
Joe’s leadership has resulted in numerous media interviews, including appearances on MSNBC, CNBC, and Bloomberg television. He has been quoted in Crain’s Chicago Business, Smart Money, Chicago Tribune, CS Magazine, Kiplinger’s Personal, and other financial publications.
Throughout his career, Joe has garnered accolades. In 2018 and again in March 2019, he was named to Forbes Magazine’s of America’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors, and from 2009 to 2019, Joe has been recognized on Barron’s prestigious list of top 1200 financial advisors. You can also see his name in Barron’s advisor section on a monthly basis, highlighted as one of the top 17 wealth advisors across all firms in Illinois. This exclusive list is a reflection of his focus on delivering superior results for individuals and families.
In 2013, Joe was included in the inaugural list of the Financial Times Top 400 Advisors in the USA. In 2014, he was again included in the Financial Times Top 400 rankings as one of the top 30 advisors across all full service brokerage firms in Illinois.
For the 7th year in a row, in the November 2017 issue of Chicago Magazine, he was honored again as a “Five Star Wealth Manager.” The honor reflects those wealth advisors nationwide who rate highest in overall customer satisfaction. The award is based on years as an advisor, client retention rate over one and five years, assets under management and, most importantly, favorable regulatory and consumer reviews.
For a decade plus, Joe has been named to Morgan Stanley’s prestigious Chairman’s Council, which includes the top wealth advisors in the nation.
Philanthropic Activities
In addition to a commitment to success in his professional life, Joe participates in the community and has a passion for helping children in need. He continues to serve on the board of Chicago-based UNICEF, which has saved more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. Working in over 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency relief, and more. Joe currently serves on UNICEF’s executive committee and was board chairman in 2012 and 2013.
Since 1992, Joe has been a champion of DePaul University, his alma mater. He is on the Finance Advisory Board, which supports curriculum development, graduate placement, and bridge-building with the corporate community. He serves on the University Development Committee and on the Center for Behavioral Finance Advisory Board Also, Joe teaches an undergraduate honors business class, Finance 396. In 2014, he was named the Finance Department’s Alumnus of the Year. Joe supports the Financial Advisory Board’s scholarship fund and endowed a College of Commerce scholarship fund in the name of the Silich Family.
Joe is especially proud of his work for the men and women of the United States armed forces through the USO, which offers a variety of programs that support the morale, welfare, social, and entertainment needs of American service men and women and their families. He is a member of the Midwest-based USO board, and chaired its primary fundraising and special events committee from 2010 to 2016. Joe was elected board chairman in 2017 and 2018. He currently is co-chairing their “Answer the Call” campaign to raise $4mil to modernize USO facilities and add additional programs.
Joe is a member of the St. Laurence High School Board of Trustees and in 2016 to 2019 co-chaired a three-year, $5mil capital campaign at the suburban Illinois school. In 2013, Joe was inducted in the St. Laurence Hall of Fame as “Alumni Executive of the Year.” In 2017, Joe was presented with the prestigious “Black and Gold Award” for demonstrating acumen, influence, and generosity while furthering the mission of an Edmund Rice Christian Brothers education.
Closer to home, Joe is devoted to organizations improving the experience of living near and visiting the Chicago Lakefront. He served as vice president of the Riverview Association from 2006 to 2017 and as president of the Greater Streeterville Cityfront Center Board from 2011 to 2017.
Finally, Joe has adopted three elementary schools on Chicago’s south side over the past 15 years as part of the Chicago Principal for a Day Program. In recent years, Joe worked with grades K-5 at an elementary school. He established the “Jazz Alive Strings Program” at the school in conjunction with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra.