I recently opened a CD at Wintrust Barrington. Their rate was higher than other financial…read moreinstitutions in the area. The process was quick, Alison Dasso answered all my questions and concerns. She was professional and friendly. I highly recommend her for all your business nedds.

If you like banking in the dark ages this bank is for you. if you want to do an ACH be prepared to…read moresign a document that is approximately 500 pages long, but they will get the information wrong so you'll need to redo it at least three times. luckily you can sign it via docusign which is their only redeeming quality. Then they have a 3-5 business day turn around time to add it, which is really actually 3-5 weeks. Then you have to do a training call to be able to use it. The training call won't even get completed because it turns out they hadn't done what they needed to do on their end. Then you are asked to provide a test file with no additional information. You finally get what you need (after being provided multiple illegible test files in a txt format), only to be told that what you provided won't work- despite providing exactly what they gave you! It's been over two months and I still can't send an ACH or wire. Oh and when they first opened the account I couldn't even do bill pay. Apparently that was another form they needed me to sign - cue another 5 Docusign's just to get that done. Why these things aren't all automatic is beyond me. Literally one of the worst banking experiences in my life.

I was previously an employee of Clarke Investment management for three months. In that time, I was…read moremade to be extremely uncomfortable under the eye of Rick Clarke. Red flags were immediately raised as soon as I was hired. Several other people had submitted resumes; and yet I, an at the time twenty year old college student with zero experience in being a secretary/assistant for a financial advisor, was chosen. He claimed to have chosen me because I had the shortest commute time, but I have reason to believe that this was not the case. Rick Clarke, despite his proclaimed good intentions of hiring me to teach me how to navigate an office job, had actually been taking advantage of my age and naïveté by: paying me under the table out of pocket until Wells Fargo accepted me as an associate (which, turns out, was his mistake and he took $300 from my final check to cover his own ass), making sexual, racist, ageist, misogynistic, and other unpleasant comments and jokes to me about strangers as well as some of his clients, constantly trying to impress me with his wealth by showing off his possessions/assets, and his obsession with my personal appearance as well as my personal life. Day after day of work and on-job training, I dressed conservatively and the only eccentric thing on my person was that the bottom layer of my hair was blue. He persuaded me over the course of a few days that he should pay for the upkeep of my hair and wardrobe, going as far as to set up an appointment for me to go to a pricey salon without my agreement and have my hair done. Not wanting to disappoint my family and friends with losing my first real job by offending my boss, I was pressured to agree. After this had occurred, he suggested that he purchase me an entire new wardrobe in order to show me off. I was more put off by this idea after the fiasco with my hair, and I had to passively resist by saying "I like the clothes I have" each time he suggested this to me. Not only was this uncomfortable, but humiliating. It felt as though he were trying to take control of my life by owning me. Not only did he try to buy me off, but he persistently invaded my personal business by asking prying questions about my, at the time, engagement. He suggested that because my fiancée was military, that I was being cheated on, that I should leave, and that he couldn't fix my problems despite me never asking him for any input. In addition to all of this, I noticed his eyes constantly moving down to my chest as well as how he frequently invaded my personal space. As soon as I had noticed this, all of everything else made sense: he was trying to see if he could get me to sleep with him. After realizing all of this, I told my mother about the situation and she suggested that I quit. I was much too afraid to tell my father about the indiscretions for fear of him causing a larger problem for me; so I listened to my mother and planned to quit. Rick Clarke made me watch as he typed up my letter of resignation in the most punitive way he could and had me sign at the bottom, having me collect my things and leave. Two days later, he texted me and promptly asked me on a lunch date. My bottom line: DO NOT WORK WITH THIS MAN. Rick Clarke not only takes advantage of his employees, but also his clients by manipulating them into doing whatever benefits him. He is racist, homophobic, has minimal respect for the armed forces, is extremely misogynistic, and is an all around unpleasant business partner.

Over a year ago my father passed on. Following his passing my mother inherited his 401k. She did…read morenot know much about it and lets me manage it. But unfortunately I wasn't 100% on what we had. I felt overwhelmed. I figured I needed some additional help on what to do. I approached Martin at Woodfield Financial Advisors. He broke it down and told me what needed to be done in easy to understand steps. Martin gave me the advice and confidence I needed to fully understand what I needed to go forward.

During 40 years of total association and trust with WFA associates, I have never been disappointed…read morein any of their decisions through all of the various market fluctuations. The best in my book.

I've been banking here forever. I've brought multiple people to the bank, and even though it's now…read morepart of a much larger bank (Wintrust), my service has never changed. I've always appreciated that they've had long time employees who were there when I started banking there and who recently retired - I think it says something about a business, when employees will work there for decades. I will advise customers not to be complacent, as sometimes there are new products that are a better fit (or give better interest).

One terrible experience after the next! I've been fighting wintrust mortgage, which is part of…read moreBarrington Bank and trust for 5 years and the misappropriation of funds I paid off a part of a loan in 2016 which was $25,897. Which they put towards interest even though there was a separate loan for that exact interest, so I'm still paying on it. Even though I paid it off in 2016. They also misappropriated $7094 of ilhh grant. wintrust stating that it wasn't mine, even though it was a lien on my home up until five years after it was given to me and never received because Wintrust decided it wasn't mine. They continually deny the misappropriation of funds with the numbers tell the truth, even though they don't.

Deceptive Practice I…read morereceived an invitation to attend a retirement seminar / dinner. (I've received many in the past.) I replied SAME DAY and was told that they were full. The sales rep then tried to switch me into moving my accounts to them. Not so much as a presentation or fulfillment of an invitation. Why would I trust them? And why would anyone else?

Working with Lisa, Terry, & Nicole is such a pleasure! Such a cohesive team and they are always…read moretimely in addressing my needs. They are completely transparent as well, they make me feel like I'm a part of the family.

I was seeking a local investing firm and happened to come across Kabarec Financial Advisors on…read moreYelp. Honestly, I didn't even know if they were exactly the right company for what I needed to do. So I just stopped in today and spoke with Michelle. Despite my frazzled and exhausted first-time-mom appearance and my "i have no decent clothes that fit right now so these sweats suffice" wardrobe, neither the receptionist nor Michelle made me feel out of place. As it turned out, for my situation, Michelle advised it is best for me to go to an investment firm and open an account directly with them. Michelle was quite professional, knowledgeable, and able to provide some great advice despite her company not being the exact fit for my needs. If I should ever be in need financial advising, I would absolutely return to Kabarec for their services.

From the owner: Our financial advisors in Chicago work with families and businesses to develop effective game plans…read morein a common language. For us, it's about making the complex simple. As financial advisors, our role is to enable you to confidently pursue your goals.