Ken Stern & Associates Inc (San Diego)


Ken Stern & Associates Inc is a large advisory firm based in San Diego. It manages $408.19 million of regulatory assets for 871 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2001 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California, Hawaii, Illinois, and 3 other states.

Ken Stern & Associates provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, pension consulting services, selection of other advisers, publication of newsletters, and educational seminars and workshops. It prepares financial plans for less than 10 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Ken Stern & Associates: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Ken Stern & Associates Inc is $408.19 million. The firm's AUM has grown by 1188% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $358.12 million in discretionary accounts and $50.08 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $417.38 thousand each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $3.85 million.

Investments

The firm invests in investment and business development companies the most. They account for 70% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is other assets, which make up 12% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in exchange traded securities form 8% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Ken Stern & Associates Inc for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and fixed fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Ken Stern & Associates serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, corporations or other businesses, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Ken Stern & Associates is high net worth individuals with 242 clients and $323.97 million of assets under management. Among the 10 most similar advisory firms, Ken Stern & Associates has the 2nd highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $408.19 million for 428 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Ken Stern & Associates doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Ken Stern & Associates Inc

The company employs 9 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 89 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 4 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Anish Ramachandran has served as the Chief Investment Officer since 1 Jan 2017. Katherine Sue Hinck joined the executive team most recently as the Chief Compliance Officer.

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Kenneth Aaron Stern President, ceo, managing director, portfolio manager, analyst 1 Dec 1998 Other 1754133
Christopher Mills Mitchell Chief financial officer 1 Nov 1999 Other 2420144
Luanne Marie Borowski Compliance officer 1 Aug 2000 Other 2310126
Inc. Aps Holdings Stockholder 1 Feb 2001 75% - 100% 33-0944000
Eric Geoffrey Hoffman Chief financial officer, chief compliance officer, secretary 1 Jan 2003 Other 4488554
Ann Diangelis Quinn Secretary 1 Jan 2003 Other 2476228
Daniel P Huck Chief compliance officer 1 Oct 2004 Other 3264470
Brian Scott Hendricks Chief operating officer 1 Jun 2007 Other 5311704
Katherine Sue Hinck Chief compliance officer 1 Dec 2007 Other 2253430
Anish Ramachandran Chief investment officer 1 Jan 2017 Other 4743515

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 2 indirect owners.

Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Kenneth Aaron Stern Stockholder 1 Feb 2001 75% - 100% 1754133
Susan Rosemary Lovell Stern Beneficial owner 1 Feb 2001 75% - 100% 4596239

Based in San Diego

The principal office where Ken Stern & Associates Inc performs its advisory services is located at 3655 Nobel Drive, San Diego, CA 92122, which is also the mailing address of the firm. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 858-485-0404 or by fax 858-450-0686. The normal business hours are 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at kenstern.com.