Kearns & Associates LLC (Palos Verdes)

Kearns & Associates LLC is a large advisory firm based in Palos Verdes. It manages $1.11 billion of regulatory assets for 120 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2013 and has operated in the jurisdiction of California.

Kearns & Associates provides portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, selection of other advisers, and educational seminars and workshops. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Kearns & Associates: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Kearns & Associates LLC is $1.11 billion. The firm's AUM has gone down by -13% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $192.03 million in discretionary accounts and $922.31 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $8 million each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $9.61 million.

Investments

The firm invests in non-exchange traded securities the most. They account for 30% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is state and local bonds, which make up 22% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in government bonds form 19% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Kearns & Associates LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and fixed fees. Flat-fee based compensation is the most transparent and the one you can safely predict in advance. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Joseph James Kearns serves?

The firm provides services to charitable organizations and high net worth individuals. The largest group of clients of Joseph James Kearns is high net worth individuals with 26 clients and $994.49 million of assets under management. Among the 8 most similar advisory firms, Kearns & Associates has the highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $1.09 billion for 28 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Kearns & Associates doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Kearns & Associates LLC

The company employs 2 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 100 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. No employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Joseph James Kearns has been acting as President since 1 Dec 2002. Jeffrey Joseph Kearns joined the executive team most recently as the Chief Compliance Officer.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Joseph James Kearns	President	1 Dec 2002	50% - 75%	5948720
Jeffrey Joseph Kearns	Member & vice president	1 Jan 2003	25% - 50%	5948719
The Kearns Family Trust	Member	1 Jan 2003	50% - 75%	xxx-xx-xxxx
Carole Jeanne Kearns	Trustee	1 Jan 2003	Other	6018780
Joseph James Kearns	Trustee	1 Jan 2003	Other	5948720
Jeffrey Joseph Kearns	Chief compliance officer	1 Feb 2012	25% - 50%	5948719

Based in Palos Verdes

The principal office where Kearns & Associates LLC performs its advisory services is located at 2904 Via Pacheco, Palos Verdes, CA 90274 The mailing address of the firm is 46 E Peninsula Center, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 310-378-4023. The normal business hours are by appointment only on Monday - Friday.