Birnbaum Financial Group

Birnbaum Financial Group CFP, CLU, ChFC, RHU, LUTCF, CLTC,CASL,RICP

PHILOSOPHY
I believe in a long-term relationship with my clients. We have a long-term horizon!

I am not interested in short-term affiliations, knowing
what I know about the industry. I do for my clients what
I would do for myself if I were in their position. If it’s
good for the client, it’s good for my Company and myself in
the long-term. My clients are very smart, and by dealing with them in
an honest and forthright manner, I’m able to sleep well
at night and feel pride in my craft. Being

a student of
the industry, I am constantly learning and attending
courses as well as obtaining additional designations
and certifications. This permits me to keep abreast of
this dynamic and exciting industry in an environment
with constant legal and regulatory modifications. This
only accrues in direct benefits to my clients and permits
me to offer superlative and knowledgeable service. PERSONAL
Born in Brooklyn, NY
Residing in Chicago, IL
Married to Eleanor, five children –
Yocheved, Mordechai, Rivka, Yedida, Shlomit
Eighteen grandchildren - Rafi, Dani, Rina, Daniella, Kayla, Jacob, Elchonan, Akiva, Ahuva, Naftoli, Shoshana, Penny, Allie, Naftoli, Shalom, Hinda, Ora, and Emunah

Princeton University, Princeton NJ, MSE 1974, PhD 1976

The Cooper Union, NYC, NY BSE 1972

Arie Crown Hebrew Day School Board

The ARK Board President

President of the Congregation Adas B'nei Israel

Helain Stein Volunteer Award

Hobbies: Swimming, Elliptical Training

MassMutual refers to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111-0001, and its affiliated US Insurance agencies. I am a registered representative of and offer securities, investment advisory and financial planning services through MML Investors Services, LLC. Member SIPC (www.SIPC.org). Supervisory Office: 900 E 96TH Street, Suite 300, Indianapolis IN 46240. Phone (317) 469-9999

Birnbaum Financial Group is not a subsidiary or affiliate of MML Financial Services, LLC.

Shmueli’s UpsherinA recent past Sunday, I flew to Atlanta to spend the day with my son, and his family, since this was t...
02/19/2026

Shmueli’s Upsherin

A recent past Sunday, I flew to Atlanta to spend the day with my son, and his family, since this was the day that their youngest son, their #5 son, and their #7 child, had his Upsherin. Until he is the age of 3, his parents let his hair grow uncut. He then has it clipped in an ad hoc ceremony, where Rabbis, relatives, and friends cut locks from what was his quite beautiful head of very dark hair. A professional barber comes in and makes order out of chaos and random cuts.

Light food is served, and from this point on, he begins studying his letters. He begins the road to reading and literacy. On this day he begins being taught the alphabet.

Years ago, my mother gave me a picture of me before the Upsherin picture. Mom, who I never perceived as cruel, put them in curlers, to make my hair look more attractive. Being around three, I did not realize what was happening and probably didn’t care.

The idea of committing oneself to being literate at early age fosters into a family that books, studying and reading are important. It is not surprising that as you mature you keep that thirst for knowledge throughout your whole life. That I am a lifelong learner is cultural and expected. I am not surprised at all by this trajectory since we are after all the People of the Book!

Chanukah 2025 – Family and Good FoodA Celebration of the Victory of Forces of Light over DarknessChanukah is a very popu...
12/29/2025

Chanukah 2025 – Family and Good Food

A Celebration of the Victory of Forces of Light over Darkness

Chanukah is a very popular Jewish holiday since it commemorates how the few were able to overcome the many and reaffirm their right to practice their faith. An event that took place in Israel, about 200 years before Jesus walked, and 800 years before Mohamed was conquering the tribes in Saudi Arabia is still celebrated for these 2,300 years with the lighting of candelabras in every Jewish home, by every participant in the home.

Men, women, and children each light candles, with each night another candle being added, so that the house is bathed in a crescendo of candlelight, growing each night by one candle in each candelabra. Putting them in the windows, by the doors, outside the home (which is the custom in Israel), the goal is to share the glow with the world.

A message that even in dark times, there is hope, is relevant for any time period. Persecuting a people due to their faith, as the Greeks did to the Jews, ended badly for the oppressor when good people banded together to stand up to the tyranny. The enemy seemed overwhelming, they seemed to be everywhere, and even among the Jews there were Hellenists who supported the Greek oppressors. This scenario does feel familiar!

In the small town of Modin, which today is a thriving city in central Israel, a father, Mattathias, and his 5 sons, Jochanan, Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah stood up to the tyrant Antiochus when it seemed absurd to do so. The rebellion which took 26 years, culminated in the removal of the Greek rule of Israel, and the reestablishment of the Jewish Commonwealth.

Our wish for all is that we remember that all is possible. Good will triumph over evil with G-d’s help, and that we need the unflagging determination of well-intentioned, committed participants to succeed. With this formula, we will continue to celebrate such victories in the future!

H3 – Business Halachah ConferenceChicago, ILMy partner, Nathan Lerman, and I attended this annual event a few weeks ago ...
12/12/2025

H3 – Business Halachah Conference
Chicago, IL

My partner, Nathan Lerman, and I attended this annual event a few weeks ago that focuses on ethics and morals in business. A total of greater than 800 participants attended ranging in industries from healthcare, financial services, real estate, accounting, law, medicine and a myriad of others.

Topics included estate planning, workplace challenges of being too familiar with employees and the implications thereof, being respectful of vendors and honoring commitments made to them, committing to self-improvement and a host of others.

Besides the networking sessions, good food, inspiring speakers, and being motivated to do better in a balanced lifestyle, the spectrum of ages was remarkable. Business owners, professionals, managers, entrepreneurs, speakers, and even students ranged in ages from 18 to 95. Each and every one came to learn, improve and leave this unique event inspired to do better for themselves, as well as others.

Having gone for the last several years, I always do come away inspired, motivated, and focused on doing better, and more. This year was no different. I look forward to the event and think back on the major themes of prior years, since it does change from year to year.

Million Dollar Round Table Edge 2025 - Austin TexasOr Spending Time with a Insurance Influencer Pre-Tick Tock EraJoining...
11/20/2025

Million Dollar Round Table Edge 2025 - Austin Texas
Or
Spending Time with a Insurance Influencer Pre-Tick Tock Era

Joining MetLife in 1991, as an agent, I was exposed early on to a Home Office Vice President, Joe J. Jordan. In those early days, he was responsible for assisting advisors on how to present the annuities clearly to advisors. Once the advisors understand the products, they would be able to present it appropriately to suitable clients.

Besides being extremely clear, and a wry sense of humor, he was able to make the presentations memorable, so the advisor thought of the product when meeting with prospective clients. One presentation, as I recall he came on stage wearing an umbrella which was fastened to his head to demonstrate the protective features that annuities had to offer. It was a humorous appearance but underscored the point that he wished to make. It must be memorable, because 30 years later, I still recall the event, and smile as a recall it. For the longest time, I had one of those umbrellas in my office.

During his career at MetLife, Joe helped countless advisors with his insights into industry trends and products, be they the implications of what the various products did or how they performed, besides waxing philosophically about what our industry represents. He was almost poetic in how he described the impact of our work.

A great deal of advisors were brought back to basics in that our industry protects the widows, orphans, employees, and their loved ones in a most meaningful fashion. His Life of Significance was so striking that to this day in my foyer, in our new building in Skokie, I have a poster size of that analogy.

His greatest contribution to the field force, I believe, was his reintroducing us to the basics of our industry. Our goal he reiterated, and reinforced, was to be meaningful to our clients. To make a difference to our clients and be impactful. His book, “A Life of Significance” underscored that message. This message was important in the 90s and I believe much more important 30 years later. Thank you, Joe, for all that you do and did!

Top of the Table – Phoenix, AZ 2025OrWaymo Gone SlowmoThere are about 4,000 advisors worldwide who are members of the MD...
11/06/2025

Top of the Table – Phoenix, AZ 2025
Or
Waymo Gone Slowmo

There are about 4,000 advisors worldwide who are members of the MDRT Top of the Table (TOT), worldwide. The whole organization has about 95,000 members. Of the TOT members, about 600 were present in Phoenix this past week. I attended this conference, and it was inspiring and informative as they all are.

The goal was to network, be exposed to leading edge ideas, and thinkers, and to improve their practice management and technical skills.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) was highlighted by several speakers, and sort of set the stage for my Waymo adventure. Phoenix, being one of the few cities that permit Waymo (which is a driverless car) gave me an opportunity for an adventure. I figured how much damage can a driverless car do to me on going back to the airport early Sunday morning.

At 3 AM, I requested my Waymo, not realizing that the Phoenician did not want Waymos on their property, and that the car would wait for me at a spot off the property. When the car arrived, it notified me that it arrived at the location, but it was nowhere to be found. I texted the car, and it told me that I have five minutes to get to the boarding area. The application let me know also that I was 8 minutes from the car! As I tried to race the car, I received notice that the Waymo had left, and that I was being charged for order. This was frustrating, since at that point, I needed to take an Uber to get to the airport.

I guess Artificial Intelligence is a pale comparison to Intelligence. I would have designed the software, where the car would note that I am 8 minutes away, and given me the option to have it wait longer, even for an additional charge. A human as a driver would respond: “No problem, I will wait”.

I tried to get an agent, but one could not be raised. This was not a satisfactory experience, but I am committed to giving it a chance again when the environment would not be so challenging. Waymo may need a bit Way more to go to be more satisfactory and useful.

Birnbaum Week 2025Or Do You Know Where Langley, KY is?Returning from the week that our family spends each summer togethe...
08/29/2025

Birnbaum Week 2025
Or
Do You Know Where Langley, KY is?

Returning from the week that our family spends each summer together, which started the first year of Covid, I look back on what was one of the best trips that we had taken. A total of 31 of my family came together. This included my wife, myself, 5 families (3 represented by husband and wife, 1 represented by husband only, 1 represented by wife only), and then a total of 21 assorted grandchildren! This meant that only 8 of my clan were missing.

Being in Eastern KY was a lot of fun. The VB&B that we rented was adequate to hold everybody, including a pool in its own building, a dual staircase representative of the deep South. There was a master bedroom which Eleanor and I took that included its own hot tub, men and women’s bathroom. The latter included a bidet toilet, which I hadn’t seen in years. There were of course two sinks and the Master Bedroom Suite which was probably about 3,000 square feet in total.

A theatre room that in the evening permitted us to have family moving time, replete with popcorn, and theatre seats. We grilled two nights, calling it the Romanian Feast, as well as partaking in pizza and deli other nights. The last was the first night we came, as well as the last night that we left.

Our activities were grand! We went up a chairlift to hike on an Appalachian mountain ridge, as well as taking a boat ride in a flooded mine with a guide who made it very interesting.

On our last day, we rented two pontoon boats, and four kayaks which we used in a lake in the state park in our area. It was grand! Having cliffs nearby, the brave, including one 9 year old grandson jumped into the lake from the precipice. The little grandchildren, jumped from pontoons into the lake, got into kayaks, and didn’t want to leave.

Besides all the fun activities, the family bonding and building was remarkable to watch. The cousins from different families hung together, had adventures together, and indicated that they were looking forward to next year.

Good VibrationsOr Four Summer Interns Who Are First CousinsThis summer we had 4 interns work in the practice. 2 were f...
08/19/2025

Good Vibrations
Or
Four Summer Interns Who Are First Cousins

This summer we had 4 interns work in the practice. 2 were from Chicago, and 2 were from Monsey, NY which is about 30 miles north of New York City. Projects were arranged for them that were back burner for our office but needed to be done at some time.

One project was calling on clients to make sure that their beneficiaries were correct and that they had current wills. What triggered this campaign was a client whose husband allegedly took care of the finances. When he suddenly got sick and died, he had not designated a beneficiary on a 403(b) he had with an old school he had worked with years ago.

We never confirmed the beneficiaries to be correct because we thought the other carrier had done so. The account went into probate when it really didn’t need to. The interns started this campaign to contact our client base and encourage them to review them now. I now confirm all beneficiaries on all contracts to make sure that they are correct for their current circumstances not to have this oversight of the client repeat itself.

We went paperless in 2018. Since the practice started in 1991, a total of 27 years of files needed to be digitized. Our interns were going to files, scanning parts of them into cloud storage, and shredding what remained of the files.

Our last project was calling clients who we had not reviewed their insurance products in a while. The 2 that were making the calls to such clients had a contest to ascertain who could get the most review appointments in a set time period. They had fun and enjoyed themselves.

These four interns were my grandchildren, 2 each from 2 different families. Their ages were 18 to 21 so that these girl cousins had a great deal in common and made the summer go quickly. A good time was had by all, and work was done as well. Their bonding during their stay at the company was a side benefit which seemed like a bonus to everybody.

Granddaughter’s Bas MitzvahLast month, I attended the Bas Mitzvah of my son’s oldest daughter. A freckled child who look...
07/07/2025

Granddaughter’s Bas Mitzvah

Last month, I attended the Bas Mitzvah of my son’s oldest daughter. A freckled child who looks remarkably like her mother was attended by her two set of grandparents, all my other children, which means her 4 aunts, as well as about 40 friends and guests in her home in Atlanta, GA. Two of the aunts brought lap sons, which were adorable, and permitted both young and old to be entertained, and to entertain.

The father spoke, as did the 2 grandparents. It turns out that the celebrant was named after 2 grandmothers. One was on the mother’s side, and one was on the father’s side.

Both women were born in America, married immigrants, and they built a life in which the next generation, which in total were 7 children, all turned out to be solid citizens with all different professions. Computer scientist, financial planner, pharmacist, podiatrist, periodontist, business owners, teachers and rabbis, among other professions was what they contributed to society.

Those 7 children generated 31 grandchildren, and more than 100 great grandchildren with more to come. I guess this celebrant will have a great deal of family to contend with, and to share their common origins with. I just wonder what she will do with her skills, the type of life she will have, and what her descendants will do. It is a pleasant thought to muse about.

In contrast to me, I had no grandparents, everybody was murdered in World War II. I had only 2 first cousins in total! To make matters even more interesting, 2 brothers married 2 sisters, so my uncle and aunt were my uncle and aunt twice! My first cousins had almost the same DNA as I had. We were quite close, and these cousins were really my best friends as well. My other friends in Brooklyn, whose parents survived the war, had similar stories so none of us thought it was odd. We grew up playing ball, getting educated, and thinking that we had everything we ever needed. My childhood was glorious. I wonder how my children and grandchildren will think of theirs.

Wealth Management Conference 2025Vienna, AustriaThis past week, I returned from a conference on Wealth Management in the...
05/14/2025

Wealth Management Conference 2025
Vienna, Austria

This past week, I returned from a conference on Wealth Management in the Austrian capital of Vienna. This city was at one time was the capital of the Austrian Hungarian Empire. It was not overrun by the Turks despite the great empire that they represented and all its resources. Vienna was the home of the Hapsburg dynasty which led the empire for almost 700 years and encouraged the development of music, being the home for Hayden, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and many others beginning in the 17th century and on.

Speaking, reading and writing Yiddish, which is a form of ninth century German, I thought it would be easy to understand the spoken German and/or the written word. I was sadly mistaken. I attended services on Saturday, at a well-known synagogue, the Stadttempel, which was completed in 1826, and had a cantor as well as a choir. The sermon was in German, and Hebrew, and was largely unintelligible to me.

Vienna is a little bit of a foodie city, and we were not disappointed. The cuisine was excellent, with great presentation, and variety. We took tours of Hapsburg Palace in which we had a formal dinner including waltzing, of course, and the Schonbrunn Palace, with its remarkable gardens.

The people were courteous, and respectful, and we were treated well. All in all, the trip was remarkable, the activities and meetings were extraordinary, and with such an exotic venue, it was quite memorable.

Purim 2025A client asked me about the recent Jewish holiday, Purim, and what its significance was. Purim as you may note...
03/17/2025

Purim 2025

A client asked me about the recent Jewish holiday, Purim, and what its significance was.

Purim as you may note in the pictures attached is a fun time for families. Children, and some adults, dress up in costumes, and celebrate the victory of the Jews over their enemies in the 3rd or 4th century BCE in the Persian Kingdom. They walk around the community bringing gifts of different delicacies and exotic foods as well drinks to neighbors to share.

Drinking more than you are accustomed is common so that you are placed in a happier mood. This is of course the effect of the intoxicating fluids.

Contributions to the poor are addressed on this holiday. In fact, any poor person who extends his hand as a request for funds, in the spirit of the day, does not return empty handed.

The story has twists and turns with nothing being what it appears. The costumes are to be representative of that nothing is what it seems to be. You dress up as a Dragon does not mean you are one. You dress up a referee, ball player, or ball does not make you one. Dressing up as QT Slurpee does not make you one as well.

The Scroll of Esther which documents the events is read in synagogue both in the evening and in the morning. Noise makers are exercised when the villain Haman is mentioned to blot out his accursed name. Haman, having descended from Amalek, the long hated enemy of Israel, has noise generated to symbolize the wiping out of this cruel and accursed enemy each time his name is mentioned in the Book of Esther.

All in all, it is a day to celebrate the acceptance of the Torah (Laws of Moses and all that follows) out of love of G-d’s generosity in saving his people. It is done with rituals, kindness to others, and good cheer to all. Overall, it is one of the most popular holidays of the Jewish Calendar, and the 2nd to last to be accepted by the Sages.

A Mother, 32, a 4-year-old, and a less than 1 year old – The Bibas FamilyA client asked me about the recent hostage rele...
03/05/2025

A Mother, 32, a 4-year-old, and a less than 1 year old – The Bibas Family

A client asked me about the recent hostage releases in Israel. I told them the following:

Can an organized religion and/or faux government justify the murder of a mother, and her two young children whose only crime was being Jewish? In ancient times, there was a commandment given, about 3,300 years ago, to the Israelites to wipe out man, woman, child, and animals of Amalek!

This was done to remove an evil culture that attacked the Israelites unprovoked. Amalek struck the weak and vulnerable of the Israelites as they left Egypt only to try to prove to the world that the Jews were not the Chosen People. Israel would not be protected by the Almighty, Amalek wanted to prove! Israel could suffer losses and were not protected via miracles.

The land that Amalek occupied was not part of Canaan, the Promised Land to Abraham. They were not threatened by the Israelites coming to the Promised Land. Amalek intentionally and deliberately assaulted Israel to attack the G-d of Israel.

G-d commanded Moses to uproot this malevolent nation whose goal and essence was the destruction of the Jews as representatives of G-d. Their leaders, their men and women, their children and even their animals were considered so venal that they were to be wiped off from the face to the earth.

It is possible to have unbridled evil. The N***s during World War II would stop at nothing to murder as many Jews as they can despite the realization that the war was lost! They used precious limited resources to run their death camps and increase their killing machines at the cost of material for the fronts.

The N***s as well as Hamas, and all the Gazans, who can celebrate as four coffins are returned to Israel, 3 containing the Bibas family are part of a degenerate people! What sick society considers this behavior appropriate.

Denial of what the N***s, and what Hamas and the Gazans did are being spread by bad actors already. How does one deny what happened in World War II to those who survived or their children who heard firsthand from their parents what took place. I am one of those children.

All righteous nations understand that there can be evil, and negotiation with evil is meaningless. The only solution is destruction of those that perpetuate the evil as was done with N**i Germany.

The G-d of Israel protects his people as he has done from the time of Abraham over 3,800 years ago and will continue to do so until the end of days.

נצח ישראל לא ישקר ולא ינחם כי לא אדם הוא להנחם

The Eternal One of Israel cannot be dealt with falsely and placated for he is not a man to be placated.

New Home for Birnbaum Financial Group9124 Terminal Avenue Skokie IL 60077We just moved into our own building, which will...
02/04/2025

New Home for Birnbaum Financial Group
9124 Terminal Avenue Skokie IL 60077

We just moved into our own building, which will offer twice as much room, and all employees have individual offices. It took almost a year and a half to find the site, because we had specific requirements that needed to be met.

Our past office was about 7-minute commute from my home. Since my partner, Nathan Lerman, and all of administration were just minutes from where I live, everybody had become accustomed to short commutes. We tried to keep the travel time to a minimum. The new commute is about 15 minutes!

A single-story building or a multi-story that had an elevator was important since we have some elderly clients that would have difficulty with stairs. Our new home is a single story.

We needed place to expand since our 10-year plan is to quadruple our production and will be adding administrative staff as well as advisors in the future. Our new home has place for twice as many people that we have currently, and we can with some reconfigurations add a great deal more.

Our fervent hope is that new home will continue to be a source for assisting our clients in meeting their goals and a comfortable place for advisors and staff to grow and develop. It is our expectation that it will be remembered when we are gone, as effective in accomplishing what we wanted to have happen for both clients and staff.

Address

6200 N. Hiawatha Avenue, Suite 200
Chicago, IL
60646

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 9pm
Tuesday 9am - 9pm
Wednesday 9am - 9pm
Thursday 9am - 9pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 9pm

Telephone

+17737254167

Website

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