My Story

Jim has been a Financial Advisor for over 20 years, focusing on creating highly customized financial plans. As a Senior Portfolio Manager, he’s able to tap into the firm’s global resources and still deliver a boutique level of service to our clients.

Jim’s personalized approach to Wealth Management ensures that investments and advice are properly tailored to every individual’s specific needs and goals. Whether it’s strategic lending or retirement planning, he has a keen ability to finding solutions that can mitigate tax burdens and help clients feel more confident about the future.

One of the niche services that Jim provides is working with exonerees who have been wrongly incarcerated. Jim devotes a lot of his time outside the office to providing a financial education to this overlooked population, as well as helping them manage and preserve any compensation they receive.

After graduating the College of Charleston, Jim began his career at Merrill Lynch before joining UBS as a Senior Wealth Advisor. Jim lives in Ridgewood New Jersey with his wife Melissa. He loves all things outdoors, including fly fishing and hiking. In fact, Jim has not only hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, he and some friends discovered a plane crash off a path and as a result, saved the pilot’s life. Jim maintains his Series 7, 66, 31, Life and Health Insurance License.
Securities Agent: AZ, WY, RI, NJ, MT, VA, TX, PA, NH, MN, ME, SD, OH, DE, DC, CA, MD, CT, NC, MI, MA, FL, WI, TN, GA, CO, VT, SC, AR, NY, NM; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative; Managed Futures
NMLS#: 1944100
Check the background of Our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck.*

Working With You

Our process focuses on getting to know you as a person, clarifying your financial goals and molding our services to fit what you need. We will guide you through each step of the process, and are always available for questions about how your plan is doing, and how to make it better.

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    1. Initial Meeting

    Our first meeting is where we determine how well we would fit as your financial advisor, and you as our client. We want to make sure you are paired with the best team to help you to reach your financial goals, so it is crucial that we establish a strong relationship from the start.

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    2. Setting your Goals

    Once we've determined that we are the right advisors for you the questions becomes, "What are your goals?" Whether it's retiring comfortably, buying a house, selling your business, or just accumulating wealth, we will work together to examine your current financial situation and develop a target that is achievable and important to you.

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    3. Creating Your Strategy

    From those goals, we can create a plan that contains specific strategies designed to help you reach your targets. Through our years of experience we have developed numerous, proven strategies encompassing issues such as retirement planning, estate planning, tax minimization potential, and wealth transfer, but we still remain focused on customizing our approach to each client we work with.

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    4. Implementing your strategy

    After discussing and refining your strategy, we will work closely with you to bring it to life. Using our firm tools we will assess logistics, tax impact, asset allocation adjustments, and saving/ benefit modifications to make sure we are best equipped to keep your plan on track.

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    5. Review

    Ongoing communication is the foundation of successful collaboration. We will make sure you are kept up to date on your financial progress and will revise your strategy as circumstances change. This means maintaining a constant communication with you to make sure your concerns and request are always addressed.

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    Get Started!

    To start working with us, please reach out via email by clicking the mail icon on the home page, clicking the "Contact Me" button on the home page, or sending an email to james.kennedy@morganstanley.com

Upcoming Firm Events

We hope you will join us for this upcoming event.

U.S. Policy Pulse: Trump 2.0 and the Markets

DATE: February 25, 2025 at 4:15 p.m. ET

Join Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Chief Investment Officer, Lisa Shalett, on Tuesday, February 25, for a conversation with Chief Economic Strategist and Global Head of Thematic and Macro Investing, Ellen Zentner, and Head of U.S. Public Policy, Monica Guerra, on the top policy and regulatory actions that could impact investors in the months ahead.

CRC4192005 02/2025
Online

Wealth Management and Investor Resources

Morgan Stanley's comprehensive suite of digital resources has carefully been designed to help enhance each aspect of your financial portfolio. Take some time to learn about some of the many Modern Wealth Management resources that we offer to our clients.

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    Morgan Stanley Online

    Your investments and everyday finances are always just a few clicks away with Morgan Stanley Online (MSO) and the Morgan Stanley mobile app! Access your finances and invest in an instant with the help of this hand resource that is available 24/7.

    Learn more about Morgan Stanley Online
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    Total Wealth View

    Complete your financial profile with Total Wealth View. By linking your external account information, you will benefit from more educated and holistic wealth planning, and convenient connectivity.

    Learn more about Total Wealth View
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    MS Reserved

    Reserved Living & Giving is a tiered complimentary loyalty program that rewards clients with over one million dollars in assets and liabilities invested at the firm. The program is designed to enhance your lifestyle and relationship with the firm beyond traditional wealth management services.

    Learn more about MS Reserved
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    Portfolio Risk Platform

    Morgan Stanley's Portfolio Risk Platform is powered by BlackRock's Aladdin risk engine, a state of the art, innovative risk engine used by several of the world's largest institutional asset managers, providing you with comprehensive risk analytics and a sophisticated view of the risk/ return dichotomy across your financial portfolios. This helpful tool can assist you in making educated investment decisions with increased confidence.

    Learn more about the Portfolio Risk Platform
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    Digital Vault

    Keeping important documents and financial records organized and readily available is one of the best gifts you can give those you love. In the event of catastrophe or serious illness, disability or death, your Family Records Organizer can immediately provide vital, timely information to both your family and professional advisors. The Digital Vault on Morgan Stanley Online and the Mobile App allows you and your clients to build a central, shared document library where all documents are stored using encryption.

    Learn more about Digital Vault

Location

55 East 52nd Street 10th
Fl
New York, NY 10055
US
Direct:
(212) 883-8550(212) 883-8550
Toll-Free:
(800) 733-4793(800) 733-4793

Meet My Team

About James Kennedy

Jim has been on Wall Street as a Wealth Advisor for over 20 years. After graduating the College of Charleston he joined Merrill Lynch and then UBS as a Senior Wealth Advisor. Jim prides himself on the Kennedy Group’s approach to Wealth Management; believing that every client is unique and that it takes skill and experience to help ensure that investments are properly tailored to each client.
Jim lives in Ridgewood New Jersey, and when he’s not serving his clients, he can be found fly fishing, hiking and all things outdoors.
Securities Agent: AZ, WY, RI, NJ, MT, VA, TX, PA, NH, MN, ME, SD, OH, DE, DC, CA, MD, CT, NC, MI, MA, FL, WI, TN, GA, CO, VT, SC, AR, NY, NM; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative; Managed Futures

About Sunny Krishnani

Sunny ensures that each client receives the best possible service. When clients have questions about their account or administrative matters, Sunny gets answers promptly. He makes sure that the appropriate member of our team responds to each query in a timely fashion. Thanks to Sunny, clients will have access to our high-quality equity managers, fixed income strategists, and alternative investment platforms.

Sunny was born in Queens and raised in Long Island NY. He attended Baruch College with majors in Finance and Investments where he graduated in the top 5% of the Macaulay Honors Program in 2010. Sunny has been with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management for over eleven years. He is also a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor and holds his Series 7, 66, 31, 3, Life and Health Insurance Licenses, and CRPC. He lives in Long Island and enjoys hiking, traveling and sports.
Wealth Management
Global Investment Office

Portfolio Insights

Retirement

Working with you to understand your life goals and develop a personalized wealth strategy. Today and for the years to come.
  • 401(k) Rollovers
  • IRA Plans
  • Retirement income strategies
  • Retirement plan participants
  • Annuities
4 Financially Smart Ways to Take Money Out of Retirement Accounts
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4 Financially Smart Ways to Take Money Out of Retirement Accounts

Discover how planning for required minimum distributions from retirement accounts can help you fund future needs and support loved ones.

Investing

Working closely with you to guide your wealth and investments through the most challenging market cycles.
  • Asset Management
  • Wealth Planning
  • Traditional Investments
  • Alternative Investments
  • Impact Investing
2025 Global Economic Outlook: U.S. Policies May Temper Global Growth
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2025 Global Economic Outlook: U.S. Policies May Temper Global Growth

Global growth is likely to be around 3% in 2025 and 2026, as tariff and immigration policies begin to slow the U.S. economy late next year, and China's underperformance restrains emerging markets.

Family

Creating customized financial strategies for the challenges that today’s families face.
  • Estate Planning Strategies
  • 529 Plans / Education Savings Planning
  • Long Term Care Insurance
  • Special Needs Planning
  • Trust Services
Are You Prepared for Tax Day?
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Are You Prepared for Tax Day?

The countdown to Tax Day has begun. Here are some strategies to consider as the deadline approaches.

Business Planning

Helping you on key aspects of your business such as ownership, liquidity and developing opportunities.
  • Succession Planning
  • Business Planning
  • Qualified Retirement Plans
Financial Planning for Life After Selling a Business
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Financial Planning for Life After Selling a Business

Selling your business can mean big changes for your life, both personally and financially. Know how to make the most of your windfall.

Philanthropy

Making sure your philanthropic dollars are managed with the same high quality service as the rest of your wealth.
  • Endowments
  • Foundations
  • Donor Advised Funds
  • Impact Investing
Donor Advised Funds: A Smart Way to Manage Your Giving 
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Donor Advised Funds: A Smart Way to Manage Your Giving 

There’s more to charitable giving than you may realize. Here’s one method that may be a tax-efficient way to give and can help maximize your impact.

Financial Wellness

Enhancing Financial Wellness enables your workforce to do their best work. Companies that invest in financial wellness have an opportunity to:
  • Reduce employee stress,
  • Improve retention and engagement, and
  • Set themselves apart by offering comprehensive financial wellness benefits.
The Business Case for a Financially Resilient Workforce
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The Business Case for a Financially Resilient Workforce

In the face of turbulent markets, the word “resilience” may be top of mind. Broadly speaking, resilience is the ability to “bounce back” when encountering life’s inevitable challenges.
Ready to start a conversation? Contact James Kennedy today.
Check the background of our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck*.

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Awards Disclosures
CRC 6491812 (04/2024)