Kirk Knudsen
My Mission Statement
My Story and Services
Kirk is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. He is FINRA registered and holds Series 7, 63, 65 and Life and Health Insurance licenses. Kirk is focused on using the skills and knowledge he has gained as a result of obtaining his CFP® certification as well as Morgan Stanley’s Corporate Retirement Director designation, allowing him to service a wide range of clients.
Kirk grew up in Madison, CT, spending summers on the beach and at a family camp in Northern Vermont. He attended Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY, where he earned a BS in Finance with a minor in Economics.
Kirk has lived in Milford, CT since 1990 and has three grown children—two daughters, Elena and Eva, and one son, Erik—and four grandchildren.
In his free time, Kirk enjoys mountain biking, skiing, and rowing. In 2018, he became a World Rowing Masters Regatta champion for pairs in the Age 45–49 and Age 50–54 categories and is an active member of the New Haven Rowing Club.
Helping Achieve Your Definition of Success
Financial planning is more than a one-time exercise—it's an ongoing process designed to help you make informed decisions as your life, business, and priorities evolve. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, the approach is grounded in a disciplined planning framework that connects your goals to clear strategies, measurable milestones, and regular check-ins to keep you on track.
Below are tools and resources for your convenience that may help support your financial journey, including:
LifeView is a suite of planning tools that includes goal-specific analysis that I can use with my clients to create a holistic strategy that integrates the various aspects of an individual's financial life, including investments and cash management needs.
With a CashPlus brokerage account, you can manage your cash and get more value, more protection, and a seamless digital experience. Contact me to discuss or click here. Terms apply.
Goals Planning System (GPS) is Morgan Stanley's own integrated planning tool. Built on the Firm's intellectual capital and capabilities, GPS is an intuitive and efficient platform used to quickly assess whether a client is "On Track" to achieving their financial goals.
Our Portfolio Risk Platform, backed by institutional-caliber analytics, assesses thousands of risk factors using a holdings-based approach to assess a portfolio's exposures, analyze how securities behave together across portfolios and forecast how they influence risk and return moving forward.
Pursing Your Goals, Together
Business owners don't just build companies, they build livelihoods, opportunities, and long-term impact for the people they care about. I work with entrepreneurs and business owners who want a planning partner to help connect business decisions to their personal goals, family priorities, and long-term vision. Together, we focus on building clarity around what you're working toward, what options you have, and how to make decisions with confidence through each stage of growth and transition.
For many owners, the business is one of their largest and most meaningful assets—yet planning for a transition can feel complex and easy to postpone. I help you step back and evaluate what a successful next chapter looks like, then translate that into an actionable roadmap.
Whether you're considering a sale, a merger, internal succession, or a family transition, we'll focus on aligning potential paths with your broader priorities—so the decisions you make for the business support the life you want outside of it.
If your business offers workplace benefits—such as equity programs, retirement plans, or financial wellness resources—those benefits can be a meaningful part of your culture and your employees' financial confidence. Morgan Stanley at Work offers workplace financial solutions designed to help employees understand and maximize their benefits and plan toward their goals.
Running a business requires decisions that can affect cash flow, risk, taxes, and long-term wealth. I help you think through planning considerations in a coordinated way—so your personal strategy and business strategy are working together, not in separate lanes.
When appropriate, we'll also coordinate with your CPA and attorney to keep planning conversations aligned.
Equity compensation can be a powerful tool—but it's often complicated, with important details that affect how it fits into your overall plan. I help clients understand the basics of how equity programs work, what to watch for, and how to think about equity in the context of cash flow, taxes, and long-term goals.
Digital Resources for Clients
organ 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.
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 handy resource that is available 24/7.
Digital Vault lets you easily and conveniently manage and share life's most important documents, such as wills, deeds and estate plans, as well as financial statements and tax filings.
The Global Investment Committee's Lisa Shalett headlines this weekly look at markets, asset class performance and fixed income.
Complete your financial profile with Total Wealth View. By linking your external account information, you will benefit from more educated and holistic wealth planning, along with convenient connectivity.
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.
Detailed Market commentary from Morgan Stanley's thought leaders on topics such as global equities, fixed income, monetary policy and more.
What We Provide
Here at Morgan Stanley, we strive to simplify complex financial ideas so that our clients understand what is being done on their behalf to plan for their financial future. We are firm believers of giving our clients quality resources as possible so they can stay informed about the latest market trends, outlooks, and breakdowns. Morgan Stanley seeks to make complex financial ideas more digestible so that our clients understand what is being done on their behalf to plan for their financial future, and why.
Our team at Morgan Stanley has exclusive access to vast resources, combined with our unique capabilities, giving us the means to support your goals at every life stage. Our commitment to building, preserving and managing wealth of our clients forms the foundation of everything we do.
Our Team looks at all aspects of an individual's estate to understand the potential income tax and estate planning attributes of the vehicles. The goal is for the client and his or her investment professionals to make more informed investment decisions looking at their estate plan holistically.
Liquidity events such as an initial public offering or a merger or acquisition may provide income and estate planning opportunities. Liquidity events also magnify the need to put in place or update certain essential estate planning documents. It is important to consider and implement income tax and wealth transfer strategies prior to a potential liquidity or sale event.
Executives today are increasingly compensated with stock or stock options. It is critical that an executive understands the risks of investing financial assets and the potential reward of preferential income tax treatment. The following is a general overview of some of the basic rules applicable to stock and stock options.
Our Team is highly skilled and experienced in providing clients with support through alternative investments. Learn how Morgan Stanley's comprehensive strategies, diverse talent and global resources can provide you with the opportunity to achieve your financial goals.
As a Morgan Stanley client, you have access to our dedicated Home Loans team, who will work with you to explore the right solution for your home financing needs.
Location
Portfolio Insights
Retirement
- 401(k) Rollovers
- IRA Plans
- Retirement income strategies
- Retirement plan participants
- Annuities
Investing
- Asset Management
- Wealth Planning
- Traditional Investments
- Alternative Investments
- Impact Investing
Family
- Estate Planning Strategies
- 529 Plans / Education Savings Planning
- Long Term Care Insurance
- Special Needs Planning
- Trust Services
Business Planning
- Succession Planning
- Business Planning
- Qualified Retirement Plans
Philanthropy
- Endowments
- Foundations
- Donor Advised Funds
- Impact Investing
For more information, please see the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Client Relationship Summary.
2Morgan Stanley offers a wide array of brokerage and advisory services to its clients, each of which may create a different type of relationship with different obligations to you. Please consult with your Financial Advisor to understand these differences or review our Understanding Your Brokerage and Investment Advisory Relationships brochure available at www.morganstanley.com/wealth-relationshipwithms/pdfs/understandingyourrelationship.pdf.
3Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for legal matters.
4Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is the trade name of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, a registered broker-dealer in the United States. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.
Check the background of our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck*.
The information, products and services described here are intended only for individuals residing in states where this Financial Advisor is properly registered as described in this site.
Morgan Stanley reserves the right, to the extent permitted under applicable law, to retain and monitor all electronic communications. Morgan Stanley will not accept purchase or sale orders via any Internet site, social media site and/or its messaging systems. Morgan Stanley does not endorse and is not responsible and assumes no liability for content, products or services posted by third-parties on any Internet site, social media site and/or its messaging systems. All electronic communications are subject to terms available at the following link:
https://www.morganstanley.com/disclaimers/mswm-email.html. Any profiles and associated content are for U.S. residents only.
The securities/instruments, services, investments and investment strategies discussed in this material may not be appropriate for all investors. The appropriateness of a particular investment, investment strategy or service will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments, strategies and services, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a Financial Advisor or Private Wealth Advisor. This material does not provide individually tailored investment advice. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for legal matters.
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”) is not implying an affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement with/of the third party or that any monitoring is being done by Morgan Stanley of any information contained within the website. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information contained on the third-party website or the use of or inability to use such site. Nor do we guarantee their accuracy or completeness.
The views, opinions or advice contained within third party websites or materials are solely those of the author, who is not a Morgan Stanley employee, and do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, or its affiliates. The strategies and/or investments referenced may not be appropriate for all investors as the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives.
*References to length of service at Morgan Stanley include years at Morgan Stanley and predecessor firms.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization's initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.
The use of the CDFA designation does not permit the rendering of legal advice by Morgan Stanley or its Financial Advisors which may only be done by a licensed attorney. The CDFA designation is not intended to imply that either Morgan Stanley or its Financial Advisors are acting as experts in this field.
Awards Disclosures | Morgan Stanley