Financial Investments Corporation (FIC), also referred to as Concentric Equity Partners (CEP), is a Chicago, Illinois-based private equity company. The president and chief executive officer of FIC is Jennifer Steans, who is the chair of the board of Arabella Advisors, a major left-of-center philanthropic consultancy associated with a network of nonprofits criticized for “dark money.” ^{1  2 3  4  5  6}

History and Activities

Financial Investments Corporation is a private investment firm and a family office. The firm was founded in 1967 in order to acquire the Hyde Park Bank and Trust Company in Illinois and is the company that built the wealth of the Steans family, a member of which, Jennifer Steans, acts as the chair of the board of Arabella Advisors.  ^{1 4  3}

FIC was founded by Harrison Steans, who ran the company at least until his daughter, Jennifer, became the chief executive officer in 1994. ^{7 3}

In 1973, FIC purchased LaSalle National Bank and Harrison Steans became the chairman of the company. ¹

In 1986 the Hyde Park Bank and Trust Company was renamed USAmeribancs and, a year later, was sold to NBD Bancorp, Inc. Also in 1987, the Steans family used funds earned from the sale to found the Steans Family Foundation as a vehicle for its charitable activities. ¹

In 1994, FIC was revived as a private equity investment firm used to make investments on behalf of the Steans family and their business associates. ¹

In 2007, FIC merged with Concentric Equity Partners to increase its investment portfolio. As a result, FIC is also sometimes referred to as Concentric Equity Partners, and CEP is referred to as an FIC company. CEP is the direct investing arm of FIC. ^{1 2}

FIC is located in Chicago, Illinois, and claims to manage over $2 billion in investments. ²

As of 2025, FIC’s active investments included Aruza Pest Control, Beatbox Beverages, the Boat House, Burgerville, Consulting Solutions, EDP, Entech Global Solutions, Frontier Waste Solutions, Infusion, Leap Partners, Agenta Precision Plastic Group, MX, MWM Environmental Collective, Nirvana, NSC, Pures Food Specialties, Rapid Fire Safety and Security, Riverbend Sandler Pools, SIP MFG, Solution Works, Sunbelt, Synthesis, Valley, Weatherhaven, and WRC Energy. Completed investments include Airway Services, Aperture, Blue Horizon Software, Coastal Waste and Recycling, Cole Taylor Bank, Ellison Bakery, Environmental Pest Service, Puttman Infrastructure, and Tricoci University. ⁸

People and Connections to Arabella Advisors

The partners at Financial Investment Corporation include Jennifer Steans, Ken Hooten, Ian Ross, Frank Reppenhagen, and Todd Paul. John Wood is also a partner in Asia. ⁹

Steans has been the president and chief executive officer of FIC since 1994 and a partner at Concentric Equity Partners since 2007. Previously, she was the chair of the board of directors for a year at USAmeriBank, a member of the board of directors for MB Financial Bank, and a member of the board of directors for Cole Taylor. ³

Steans is also the chair of the board of Arabella Advisors.  Arabella Advisors is a left-leaning philanthropic consulting company that provides strategy, advocacy, impact investing, and management services to high-dollar foundations, nonprofits, corporations, and individuals. Arabella Advisors’ network of nonprofit groups has been described by The Atlantic as a “massive progressive dark-money group,” and the New York Times has called the network “a leading vehicle for [dark money] on the left.”  ^{4 10  11  5  6}

Steans personally donated $200,000 to support the 2024 presidential campaign of then-Vice President Kamala Harris (D), and has donated over $500,000 to Democratic Party political candidates and groups since the 1990s. ¹²

1. “Who We Are.” FIC. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.ficcep.com/history/.
2. “Introduction.” FIC. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.ficcep.com/introduction/.
3. “Jennifer Steans.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-steans-24b4117/
4. District of Columbia Business Filings: “Arabella Advisors, LLC.” Accessed July 10, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/arabella-advisors-llc-beneficial-owners-03.10.22-644×290.png
5. Emma Green. “The Massive Progressive Dark-Money Group You’ve Never Heard Of.” The Atlantic. November 2, 2021. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/11/arabella-advisors-money-democrats/620553/
6. Kenneth P. Vogel, Katie Robertson. “Top Bidder for Tribune Newspapers Is an Influential Liberal Donor.” New York Times. April 13, 2021. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/business/media/wyss-tribune-company-buyer.html
7. “Company Founder.” FIC. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.ficcep.com/company-founder/.
8. “Investments.” FIC. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.ficcep.com/investments/?term=active.
9. “Investment Team.” FIC. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.ficcep.com/investment-team/.
10. “Arabella Advisors Appoints Rick Cruz as President and CEO.” Associated Press. August 11, 2022. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://apnews.com/press-release/globe-newswire/26d0294565fa4f5a2768cb407ca940d3
11. Arabella Advisors. “Serving Our Clients.” Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.arabellaadvisors.com/serving-our-clients/. 
12. “Jennifer Steans.” FEC. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=jennifer%20steans.