

The Kernus Watson Rudolph Group at Morgan Stanley

Our Mission Statement
Our Story and Services
1) clearly articulated goals
2) investment strategies and processes that are rational, disciplined and customized to your needs
3) a unified strategy to drive all financial decisions, and
4) the discipline to make intelligent choices in the face of market volatility.
Like most endeavors, successful wealth management starts with defining a goal or goals – once goals are determined, we can choose strategies designed to help achieve them, and use new data to make adjustments as needed.
The Kernus Watson Group at Morgan Stanley has developed a process that begins with your goals, layers in your preferences and risk tolerance, and helps to implement established tactics that are appropriate to each client.
Our approach to investments is similarly based on accepted principles, again customized to your particular goals and preferences. Our team’s portfolio managers help recommend investments chosen specifically for you, whether traditional equities and/or bonds or alternative investments. We leave “hunches” and “playing the market” to others – everything we do is rational, backed by research and experience.
But our team is about more than investments – we help clients with virtually every aspect of their financial lives – tax management strategies, legacy planning, cash management and much more. That’s why it’s important to note that all three of our team’s Financial Advisors are all CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERSTM, a coveted credential that reflects our knowledge and experience with the full gamut of wealth management decisions.
Finally, we believe that wealth management is more of a science than an art, so we adhere to disciplined strategies and tactics to keep clients focused on their goals. It’s a combination that works well for our select group of clients.
How Setting Goals Can Make a Difference

We believe that successful wealth management begins with setting goals.
These may be based around life's transitions such as retirement, or specific things like a second home, a "bucket list" trip, or paying for a child's or grandchild's education.
Whatever the goal, we believe that pursuing specific goals leads to better outcomes for investors.
There's more. By establishing goals, we can recommend an investment portfolio designed to achieve a particular return – which can, in turn, help manage undue risk.
Furthermore, knowing where you want to end up means we can more rationally decide if and when adjustments need to be made – without needless guesswork.
And, goals allow us to consider the non-investment elements of your wealth management plan – questions around life insurance, risk management , cash flow and dozens of other questions, all of which can be more accurately assessed within the context of an overall strategy.
Goals are all about you – what you want to achieve, who you want to support. what you want your legacy to be. At the Kernus Watson Rudolph Group, it's where we start every wealth management engagement.
Information contained herein has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee their accuracy or completeness.
Our Principles of Portfolio Management

We build portfolios around three core principles:
Asset Allocation
This is often the most important predictor of overall performance. Choosing the right mix of asset classes allows us to create a diversified portfolio designed to help reach your goals with the minimum required risk.
Diversification
This principle drives the selection of each issue within an asset class. A properly diversified portfolio can give you opportunity for upside growth with risk management.
Rebalancing
Over time, some assets will increase (or decrease) in value. When that happens, the portfolio no longer matches the initial strategic balance and needs to be adjusted. We do this on a regular basis, often quarterly but perhaps more frequently as circumstances dictate.
We implement these strategies because they are appropriate for the clients we serve – successful individuals and families may be focused on wealth preservation more than above-market growth. Our job is to help you reach your goals with the minimum risk required to get there.
We build investment portfolios using a "pyramid" structure of asset classes. Then we apply proven methods to select each component in that portfolio. For additional information, please see the brochure.
Asset Allocation, Diversification and Rebalancing do not protect against a loss in declining financial markets. There may be a potential tax implication with a rebalancing strategy. Investors should consult with their tax advisor before implementing such a strategy.
Why Investing and Emotion Don't Mix

As an investor, how should you react to a substantial market decline?
Many investors would sell off a sizable portion of their portfolio. And who can blame them – surely it's better to get out while you still can.
Similarly, if the market goes up, you'd be inclined to get in on a good thing, right?
Wrong. If you've built a portfolio wisely, ignoring short-term market fluctuations has been the smarter course over time. If anything, it may be advantageous to buy when the market drops and vice versa.
So why do investors sell in a declining market? Fear. That's just one of the emotions that can undermine the performance of a portfolio. Emotions also lead investors to hang on to an overvalued stock, clinging to hopes for a rebound. This "fallacy of sunk costs" can also lead to poor investment decisions.
These insights come from the emerging field of "behavioral finance," which shows that human beings often act in ways inconsistent with their own best interests – in a nutshell, they react to changing markets with emotion rather than logic.
At the Kernus Watson Rudolph Group, we are strong adherents to the principles of behavioral finance. Our mission is to act as your "voice of reason" to guide you with logic, data, facts, and evidence. So you can avoid the pitfalls of mixing emotions with investment tactics.
The individuals mentioned as the Portfolio Management Team are Financial Advisors with Morgan Stanley participating in the Morgan Stanley Portfolio Management program. The Portfolio Management program is an investment advisory program in which the client's Financial Advisor invests the client's assets on a discretionary basis in a range of securities. The Portfolio Management program is described in the applicable Morgan Stanley ADV Part 2, available at www.morganstanley.com/ADV or from your Financial Advisor.
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The investments listed may not be appropriate for all investors. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a financial advisor. The appropriateness of a particular investment will depend upon an investor's individual circumstances and objectives.
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Meet The Kernus Watson Rudolph Group
About Me
As a Senior Portfolio Manager, Mitchell creates customized investment strategies and manages discretionary portfolios, which may incorporate individual stocks and bonds, Morgan Stanley Model Portfolios, and third-party investment strategies. He has provided advice and guidance to clients for more than two decades. Mitchell joined Morgan Stanley in 2022, after leading teams at Merrill Lynch and UBS.
A native of Washington, D.C., Mitchell earned his B.S. in Business from the University of Maryland. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner, a designation awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
Mitchell and his wife Jean have made Alexandria their home since 1992. They have two children, Kendall and Maxwell. When not in the office, Mitchell enjoys spending time with his family, reading, golfing, and playing classical piano.
NMLS#: 1083645
About Me
Kieran’s credentials and experience reflect the complex needs of our clients. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®), he has demonstrated a deep understanding of the full range of wealth management needs. He has also earned the Certified Portfolio Manager designation, reserved for Advisors who have demonstrated the ability to guide clients beyond traditional stocks and bonds. Kieran can integrate a wide variety of innovative solutions into a long-term goals-based financial plan.
Kieran earned a B.S. in Finance and Economics from George Mason University.
He is a passionate supporter of No Kid Hungry, an organization dedicated to feeding the one in six American children living with hunger. He also fosters dogs who need extra TLC to overcome prior abuse or illness. In his remaining spare time, Kieran enjoys golf, tennis, and the emerging sport of pickleball.
NMLS#: 638920
About Me
A thoughtful and committed listener, Karen helps solve problems and offers forward-thinking ideas on a wide variety of financial strategies. She believes in a systematic, dynamic, and disciplined wealth management process, which helps her identify clients’ objectives and define the true purpose of their wealth.
Karen graduated from the University of Virginia, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications studies and a Master’s degree in education. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) professional and holds the Certified Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®) designation.
Karen and her husband, Rust, live in Alexandria, Virginia, with their two children, Aubrey and Alex. Karen’s hobbies center around her children’s various activities, including soccer, cheerleading, and horseback riding.
NMLS#: 1741661
About Cassandra Campbell
About Jeanette Ruchelman

Contact Mitchell O. Kernus

Contact Kieran A. Watson

Contact Karen B. Rudolph
Portfolio Insights
Retirement
- 401(k) Rollovers
- IRA Plans
- Retirement income strategies
- Retirement plan participants
- Annuities
Investing
- Asset Management
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Family
- Estate Planning Strategies
- 529 Plans / Education Savings Planning
- Long Term Care Insurance
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Business Planning
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- Qualified Retirement Plans
Philanthropy
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Financial Wellness
- Reduce employee stress,
- Improve retention and engagement, and
- Set themselves apart by offering comprehensive financial wellness benefits.
1Morgan 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.
For more information, please see the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Client Relationship Summary.
2Morgan Stanley’s investment advisory programs may require a minimum asset level and, depending on your specific investment objectives and financial position, may not be appropriate for you. Please see the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC program disclosure brochure (the “Morgan Stanley ADV”) for more information in the investment advisory programs available. The Morgan Stanley ADV is available at www.morganstanley.com/ADV.
3When Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors (collectively, “Morgan Stanley”) provide “investment advice” regarding a retirement or welfare benefit plan account, an individual retirement account or a Coverdell education savings account (“Retirement Account”), Morgan Stanley is a “fiduciary” as those terms are defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), as applicable. When Morgan Stanley provides investment education, takes orders on an unsolicited basis or otherwise does not provide “investment advice”, Morgan Stanley will not be considered a “fiduciary” under ERISA and/or the Code. For more information regarding Morgan Stanley’s role with respect to a Retirement Account, please visit www.morganstanley.com/disclosures/dol. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. Morgan Stanley does not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals are encouraged to consult their tax and legal advisors (a) before establishing a Retirement Account, and (b) regarding any potential tax, ERISA and related consequences of any investments or other transactions made with respect to a Retirement Account. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters.
4Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is the trade name of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, a registered broker-dealer in the United States.
5Alternative Investments are speculative and include a high degree of risk. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his/her investment. Alternative investments are appropriate only for qualified, long-term investors who are willing to forgo liquidity and put capital at risk for an indefinite period of time.
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