Stephen Potter, CFP®
First Vice President, Wealth Management,
Financial Advisor,
Senior Portfolio Manager
Direct:
(954) 713-8430(954) 713-8430
Toll-Free:
(800) 491-3359(800) 491-3359
My Mission Statement
My mission is to build long-term relationships based on trust, integrity, and transparency, always putting my clients' best interests first. As an experienced financial advisor, I am committed to understanding my clients' unique goals, aspirations, and challenges, and developing tailored strategies to help them realize their financial objectives.
About Us
Becoming a Financial Advisor has turned out to be a terrific second career for Steve, who in 1985 began working with Kidder, Peabody & Co. After a merger in 1989 with Merrill Lynch, Steve continually was recognized for superior performance as a member of their Chairman’s Club.
Moving his practice in 2008 to Morgan Stanley*, Steve’s mission is to continue to provide professional wealth management services to a select group of families where he can build lifelong multi-generational relationships. The discipline and ability to work well as part of a team that Steve acquired from being a professional athlete and a member of the SUPER BOWL XVII MIAMI DOLPHINS team has translated well to his role as financial advisor and partner in THE COASTAL GROUP. Having earned the designations of Vice President and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER practitioner, his areas of focus are Wealth Continuation and Portfolio Management.
A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Steve earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. Since 1980, he has called South Florida home. When not in the office, Steve enjoys the outdoors by playing golf or hunting. As an active member of the NFL Alumni Association, he gives back to his community by helping organize and participating in non-profit charitable events for the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Kids in Distress and Safari Club International
Moving his practice in 2008 to Morgan Stanley*, Steve’s mission is to continue to provide professional wealth management services to a select group of families where he can build lifelong multi-generational relationships. The discipline and ability to work well as part of a team that Steve acquired from being a professional athlete and a member of the SUPER BOWL XVII MIAMI DOLPHINS team has translated well to his role as financial advisor and partner in THE COASTAL GROUP. Having earned the designations of Vice President and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER practitioner, his areas of focus are Wealth Continuation and Portfolio Management.
A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Steve earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. Since 1980, he has called South Florida home. When not in the office, Steve enjoys the outdoors by playing golf or hunting. As an active member of the NFL Alumni Association, he gives back to his community by helping organize and participating in non-profit charitable events for the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Kids in Distress and Safari Club International
Securities Agent: GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, IA, AL, HI, AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative; Transactional Futures/Commodities; Managed Futures
NMLS#: 1273107
NMLS#: 1273107
Check the background of Our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck.*
Education
- CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, 1998
- Series 3, 7, 65, 66
- University of Virginia, BS Commerce 1980
Experience
1985 - present: Financial Securities Industry
Kidder Peabody & Co. (1985-1989), Merrill Lynch (1989-2009), Morgan Stanley (2009-present)
Kidder Peabody & Co. (1985-1989), Merrill Lynch (1989-2009), Morgan Stanley (2009-present)
Associations
- NFL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Location
350 East Las Olas Blvd
Ste 1500
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33301
US
Direct:
(954) 713-8430(954) 713-8430
Toll-Free:
(800) 491-3359(800) 491-3359
Fax:
(954) 446-1933(954) 446-1933
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
A Simple Six-Step Retirement Checkup
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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
Rational Investing in an Age of Uncertainty
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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
529 Plans: A Powerful Tool to Save for Education
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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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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
Ready to start a conversation? Contact Stephen Potter today.
CFP Board owns the marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.
1Morgan 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.
For more information, please see the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Client Relationship Summary.
2Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and 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 matters involving trust and estate planning and other legal matters.
3Morgan 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.
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.
CFP Board owns the marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.
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
1Morgan 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.
For more information, please see the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Client Relationship Summary.
2Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and 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 matters involving trust and estate planning and other legal matters.
3Morgan 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.
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.
CFP Board owns the marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.
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
CRC 4665150 (8/2025)
