Photo courtesy of Kiplingers

Ariel Investments is a Chicago-based investment firm that was founded by John Rogers, Jr. in 1983. John was introduced to finance by his father at an early age and quickly fell in love with investments. Rogers received his degree in economics from Princeton and serves on the Board of Directors for a few Fortune 500 companies.

Ariel Investments has had a track record of out-performing the market in several of its funds by focusing on small and mid-cap U.S. firms. The company has over $13 billion in assets and over 100 employees, with 95% of the company being owned by those employees and board members. Before you look to invest your money in big "brand name" brokerages, check out Ariel Investments!