Pasadena Group at Morgan Stanley

Richard has been with Morgan Stanley for 30 years and has a long history of consulting corporate retirement plans. He is among the elite few of advisors within Morgan Stanley appointed to consult publicly traded companies and other large institutions, being given the title of Corporate Retirement Director. Richard has also been awarded the Chartered Retirement Plans SpecialistSM designation (CRPS^®) from the College for Financial Planning. He also holds the title of Senior Institutional Consultant for his work with numerous non-profits, health care organizations, foundations and endowments.

Richard has been member of Morgan Stanley’s distinguished Corporate Client Group since 1998. In 2015 and 2016, he was named to the Financial Times “Top 401 Retirement Advisers” list. Many advisors often come to Richard for advice and best practices on 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Richard is also a big proponent of educating plan sponsors on their fiduciary duties and preparing retirement plan participants to be retirement-ready. He currently sits on the Retirement Advisor Council which advocates for successful qualified plan and participant retirement outcomes., He has previously sat on many Recordkeeper councils.
 
Richard studied Finance at The University of Central Florida, and was a three-time All-American goalkeeper during his time there. He holds many records at the university to this day, and was drafted professionally by the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League (NASL). In his free time, Richard enjoys traveling, attending sporting events, and cooking.

2015 & 2016 Financial Times 401 Top Retirement Advisors
Source: ft.com. Data compiled by the Financial Times based the following time periods:
Awarded 2016; data 12/31/13 - 12/31/15
Awarded 2015; data 9/30/13 -9/30/14

Ara has been with Morgan Stanley for over 35 years. He is a Senior Vice President and a Corporate Retirement Director (CRD). As one of a handful of Corporate Retirement Directors with the firm nationwide, Ara is dedicated to helping corporate clients as well as individuals, businesses and organizations interested provide customized, high level of service and knowledge to their employees and plan participants. As a Corporate Retirement Director, Ara serves as a resource to other financial advisors at Morgan Stanley who seek professional experience with corporate retirement plans. Ara has extensive experience and training in retirement planning and earned his designation as a Chartered Retirement Plans SpecialistSM (CRPS^®) from the College for Financial Planning.  Additionally, Ara has been recognized as a Senior Investment Management Consultant for his efforts with the firm’s Consulting Group services division, working with foundations, endowments, institutions and families.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Ara is a strong believer in community service and is active on the board of his local church, his children’s schools, athletics and educational charities. He also serves on various nonprofit boards.

Sean Kennally is a Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor on The Pasadena Group at Morgan Stanley. Sean holds multiple licenses and, because he was once an assistant branch manager with the firm, those licenses include the supervisory licenses. He started at Dean Witter (now Morgan Stanley) in 1979 and has over 44 years of experience in the Financial Services Industry. His full-service team maximizes the use of the Firm’s abundant resources to add additional value to their clients’ portfolios, preserve their wealth, and help to grow it. Through his vast experience navigating market cycles, Sean, and his partner Shirley Ceja-Tinoco have developed a process and investment approach to wealth management that is individualized for each client. Sean aims to be the primary point of contact when it comes to anything finance-related, and his favorite part about the business is introducing clients to his partner Shirley Ceja-Tinoco and the Financial Planning process, so that they know that their best interests are always being taken care of. Clients of Sean and Shirley Ceja-Tinoco receive preferential access to cash management and leading solutions including exposure to equities, fixed income (particularly tax-free investments), insurance strategies and other investment products.


Sean earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1979. He lives in Pasadena, California and enjoys trying out new restaurants in and around Pasadena as well as reading and playing golf. Sean was the President of the Trojan Club of the San Gabriel Valley from 2000 to 2020 and has also been a member of the USC Athletics Board of Counselors since 1998. Sean enjoys volunteering some of his time to help raise money for the scholarships of USC’s student-athletes. He also loves to attend USC Football and Basketball home and away games as well as travelling to Milan, Italy to visit his only daughter Christina and her family. Sean credits his strong work/life integration as a key factor that allows him to be a more effective leader and representative in the field.

Jon, a Senior Vice President, Corporate Retirement Director and Financial Advisor, joined The Pasadena Group at Morgan Stanley in 2011 after graduating from Fordham University with a B.S. in Finance and a minor in Economics. He has completed the Certified Investment Management Analyst^® (CIMA^®) certification jointly through the Wharton School of Business and the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA). Jon also earned Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist℠ designation (CRPS^®) from the College for Financial Planning.

In 2018, Jon was named to Forbes' list of "America's Top 1000 Next Generation Wealth Advisors". In 2023, he was additionally named Forbes' list of "Top Next Gen Best-In-State Wealth Advisors as well as on NAPA's "Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisors under 40" list. Since 2021, he has been annually named to NAPA's "Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisors under 40" list (2022, 2023, & 2024).

While at Fordham University, Jon was a part of the NCAA Division 1 men’s soccer team. Even after graduating, he still enjoys playing in recreational leagues. Additionally, Jon also recently coached at Damien High School where, as a student, he played and helped win two CIF-SS Division 1 soccer championships. Jon also enjoys competing in recreational soccer leagues, 5K’s and traveling.

2018 & 2023 Forbes America’s Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors & Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors Best-in-State (formerly referred to as Forbes America's Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors, Forbes Top 1,000 Next-Gen Wealth Advisors, Forbes Top 500 Next Generation Wealth Advisors)
Source: Forbes.com (Awarded 2018 & 2023). Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based on 12-month period concluding in Mar of the year the award was issued.

2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, & 2024 NAPA's Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40 (Aces) (previously referred to as NAPA's Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40 (Young Guns))
Source: Source: napa-net.org (Awarded 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024) Data compiled by NAPA from Aug of the year prior to the award – Aug of the year the award was given.

Shirley joined Morgan Stanley in 2010, shortly after receiving a B.A. in Economics, Politics, and Philosophy from Pomona College in Claremont, California. In 2017, Shirley earned an M.B.A. with a specialization in Finance from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, which she attended full-time. Today, Shirley is a Financial Advisor where she focuses on assisting clients define and prioritize financial goals and identify the critical resources that will help clients support their retirement plans. Shirley uses performance data to model various wealth planning and investment performance scenarios using Morgan Stanley’s proprietary financial planning tools. Shirley’s fluency in written and conversational Spanish allow for enhanced 401(k) participant education and enrollment.

During her time at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, Shirley served as the Director of Private Wealth Management for the Investment Finance Association, where she continues to provide current students with tailored career counsel. During her tenure at Pomona College she was a sponsor for the Chicano Latino Student Affairs. Today, she is a proud member of the Los Angeles Latino Deal Makers and regularly volunteers to mentor high achieving but underrepresented scholars of all backgrounds for college or graduate school matriculation. She especially enjoys traveling, watching documentaries, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Armen is a CFP^® professional and a Financial Advisor with an expertise in financial planning designed to help align a client’s investment strategy with their needs and goals. He works with those thinking about their retirement, as well as those who have just had a major life event. Armen helps them maximize the savings they have built throughout their hard-working career and helping to ensure it will last a lifetime.

Armen joined The Pasadena Group in the summer of 2018 as a Junior at California State University Northridge to begin gaining experience. While at California State University Northridge, Armen was involved in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, the Armenian Students Association; he also played intramural sports and even had the opportunity to attend the University of Arizona for one year. After graduating with a degree in Finance with an emphasis on Financial Planning in December 2019, Armen became a full-time member of team and began building his niche as one of the team’s financial planners. Armen passed his CFP^® exam in March of 2022 and earned his CFP^® designation in January 2023.

Away from work, Armen is an avid sports fan. He loves watching and playing basketball and football and recently has become a fan of Formula 1 racing as well. His favorite teams to watch are the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Saints, and the USC Trojans; Armen tries to attend multiple games a season when possible. He also enjoys attending car shows on weekends with his brother and father and is fascinated by hearing the owners’ unique stories.

Honest and attentive, Leslie helps ensure the day-to-day operational efficiency and execution for our practice. She identifies opportunities and develops solutions for ongoing improvements, and manages and develops our support team.

Before joining Morgan Stanley in April of 2019, Leslie was a Business Manager at Marquez Private Wealth Management, Senior Client Associate at Merrill Lynch, and an Operational Representative at Bank of America. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California-Riverside.

While she originally hails from Los Angeles, Leslie lives in South Pasadena with her husband, Kenneth, and their two children. She devotes her time to serving Heart of Angels and her local Girl Scouts of America.

James joined the Pasadena Group at Morgan Stanley in 2021. He previously worked at Morgan Stanley in 2008. Prior to his return to Morgan Stanley, James also worked at UBS and more recently, Grandway Asset Management. James is tasked with analyzing fund managers for institutional and high net worth clients. He also conducts financial and market research, aggregates the firm’s best thinking, and performs financial modeling.

James graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a B.S. in Business Administration. In 2013, he earned his designation as a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst℠ (CAIA^®) from the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association^®. In 2016, James earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA^®) charter from the CFA Institute. James is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese. In his leisure time, James enjoys traveling and various outdoor activities.

Gladys joined the Pasadena Group at Morgan Stanley in January of 2022. She started her banking career in Texas with BBVA in 2010. There, she rose to a Branch Retail Executive with experience in team oversight and portfolio management. Now, Gladys is a Registered Associate where her responsibilities include administrative, operational, and account maintenance needs for the team’s clients. She also provides support for the team’s 401(k) consulting practice. In addition to this, Gladys assists with Spanish enrollment and translation. Most recently, she earned the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist℠ designation (CRPS^®) from College for Financial Planning — a Kaplan Company.

Gladys is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. She currently lives in Glendora with her husband Javier and two children. In her leisure time, Gladys enjoys outdoors activities and spending time with her family.