We guide individuals with strategic wealth management designed to help create freedom, ease challenges, and open meaningful opportunities.
Meet
Nicole Meihofer
My approach to wealth management was shaped early on by the realization that the traditional financial advising model focused more on distant planning than joyful living. With years of experience in the financial industry, and lessons learned through my own personal wins and challenges, I set out to modernize that model.
My career includes experience working with high-net-worth families at Merrill Lynch with multi-million dollar portfolios and complex human dynamics, creating technical financial plans while gaining profound insights into how people make financial decisions.
After Merrill I co-founded a wealth management firm in Chicago, IL before creating Pearlvest Capital: an investment management and wealth strategy firm designed to fill the gap strong leaders and forward-thinkers need now.
The seed for Pearlvest was planted by deeply personal experience. When my mom passed away suddenly in 2013 at the age of 57, the retirement plans my parents had built were gone and my dad’s life shifted in ways we never expected. Overnight. This harsh realization that joyful living really should come first was a critical shifting point in my career and how I serve my clients now.
Continually driven by experiences that reinforced the importance of living well while planning wisely, I started Pearlvest Capital to blend time-tested investment strategies with modern financial tools to help clients build wealth that enriches their lives today while securing their future freedom.
Beyond the business, I live in the northern suburbs of Chicago with my husband Kevin, daughter Mara, and son William. I love my work but equally value family time and being outdoors. While my husband bonds with our daughter over video games, educational shows, and schoolwork, I keeps the kids active and curious, introducing them to topics like AI, cryptocurrency, and preventative health. A champion for entrepreneurs, I find energy in supporting others and surrounding myself with forward-thinkers across industries. Our little family often escapes to Colorado to visit cousins, hike, and enjoy a slower pace away from city life.
Why Pearlvest?
My mother loved pearls. She wore them often, not as a statement, but as a quiet reflection of her elegance and impeccable taste. I always admired how effortlessly they became part of her presence, graceful, timeless, and strong. That symbolism stayed with me. Pearls, for me, are not just beautiful objects. They represent legacy, resilience, and the kind of refined strength my mother embodied.
Across cultures and centuries, pearls have symbolized wisdom, wealth, and transformation. Formed over time from a single grain of sand, they are nature’s reminder that something irritating or uncomfortable can become something truly valuable. In this way, pearls are a fitting metaphor for building wealth: the result of time, patience, and intentional growth. Their enduring place in society speaks to a form of wealth that isn’t flashy, but deeply rooted in meaning and longevity.
Pearls are considered rare commodities, particularly high-quality natural or cultured varieties, and they do not follow the standardization typical of traditional assets. This positions them within the broader category of alternative assets, recognized for their tangible characteristics and historical significance. Often collected, inherited, or worn for their aesthetic and cultural value, pearls represent a blend of personal importance and material worth.
