Michael Belsky

Michael D. Belsky joined New Vernon Wealth Management in September of 2011. Prior to joining the firm he worked in municipal finance industry for over 28 years. From 2009 to 2011 he developed   a credit review process for Chicago based C.W. Henderson and Associates a, $3 billion municipal bond investment advisory firm.

Mr. Belsky spent most of his career as Group Managing Director of the Public Finance Group at Fitch Ratings. Mr. Belsky worked at the rating agency from 1993 to 2008 and was named top rating agency executive in public finance by institutional investors three years in a row (Smith’s Research and Ratings Review Municipal All Star Team 2005-2007)

Michael began his career at the Northern Trust Company as a municipal bond analyst in 1984 and subsequently worked as municipal bond underwriter and a public finance investment banker. In 1989 he established and managed a public finance department for Mesirow Financial, a regional investment bank in Chicago, prior to taking a position with Fitch Ratings, mentioned above.

Mr. Belsky also served two terms as a member of the City Council in Highland Park, Illinois (1995- 2003) and two terms as Mayor (2003 to 2011). Under his leadership the City received national recognition in the area of environmental sustainability, budgeting, financial reporting, affordable housing, and local health initiatives. The City maintained a Aaa rating by Moody’s Investors Service throughout his tenure.

Michael was a member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board from 2008 to 2011, a national body that sets accounting and financial reporting standards for state and local governments in the US.

Mr. Belsky is a recognized expert in municipal finance and has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars including at Bloomberg and the Greenwich Round Table. He recently was asked to testify as an expert by the SEC for hearings on secondary market disclosure in the municipal bond market. He has lectured on governmental finance at Northwestern University; The LBJ School at University of Texas; The School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University; Northern Illinois University’s Graduate Program in City Management; and  at the University of Illinois.

Mr. Belsky has been an adjunct professor in public finance at Northwestern University and received a BA from Lake Forest College in Urban Studies and an MA in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.