Steve Kennedy

Steve Kennedy, CFP^®, CPWA^®, CIMA^®, CEPA^®, RMA^®, CDFA^™  

PRINCIPAL, Albany Financial Group

518-786-3300

skennedy@albanyfinancial.com

Steve has always leaned towards financial planning, even at a young age, vehemently tracking his budget. 

Subsequently, his first real exposure to the markets came at age 16.  At the height of the dot.com bubble in 2000, he made his first stock investment.   Fast forward 8 years, Steve entered the industry in January 2008, near the onset of the Great Recession.   These two “landmark” recessions that followed provided the backdrop for a career focused on understanding the emotions and complexities clients encounter when it comes to managing their family wealth. 

Prior to joining Albany Financial Group, Steve had previous experience in financial advisory and wealth management companies such as Goldman Sachs.

As Principal of AFG, he is experienced with the fiduciary duties of meeting advisory clientele needs.  This includes such things as: financial planning, investment management, portfolio construction, sophisticated needs and advanced planning strategies for the high net worth. 

In addition, Steve currently holds the following certifications/designations:

• CFP^® (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™).
• CPWA® (Certified Private Wealth Advisor®).
  • Sophisticated solutions and highly-cultured strategies to meet the nuanced financial affairs of high-net-worth and UHNW individuals.
  • Wealth Management Theory and Practice education through the Yale School of Management.
• CIMA^®  (Certified Investment Management Analyst®).
  • Advanced portfolio construction and investment management solutions.
  • Investment Management Theory and Practice through the Yale School of Management.
• CEPA^® (Certified Exit Planning Advisor).
  • Business Owners: Strategies and techniques to help identify, enhance, and harvest the value associated with an owner's business.
• RMA^®  (Retirement Management Advisor®). ***
  • Techniques and planning to help meet the requests of those near or in retirement.
• CDFA™; when applicable.
  • Special circumstantial planning.

He is also an active member of the:

• Estate Planning Council of Eastern New York.
• Investments and Wealth Institute®.
• Financial Planning Association (National and Northeastern New York).
• Exit Planning Institute^®.
• IDFA®.

Accolades:

• In May 2025, Steve achieved a national ranking of #21 among the more than 29,000 financial advisors supported by LPL Financial across the entire United States.****
• In addition, Steve is a current member of LPL Financial's Summit Club. This prestigious award is presented to less than 1% of LPL Financial's approximately 29,000 advisors nationwide.
• Steve has been humbly fortunate enough to receive the prestigious Forbes/SHOOK 2023 award of Best NextGen Advisors, ranking #37 overall in the United States, out of more than 42,000 applicants. **
• In 2024, Steve was once again recognized by Forbes/SHOOK, this time being named to the list of Top High Net Worth Advisors in the U.S.*
  
• In 2024, Steve was also named to the national list of AdvisorHub's List of 100 Advisors to Watch; noting the largest and fastest-growing practices run by advisors under the age of 45. **
• In 2025 and 2026, Steve was again accepted into Forbes/SHOOK rankings, being named to the list of Best In-State Wealth Advisors.*

Family Life:

Steve and his wife have three children.  Outside of the office you’ll find him avidly reading, traveling and involved in family activities.

*The Forbes ranking of Top Next-Generation Wealth Advisors, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data, rating thousands of wealth advisors born in or after 1980. Advisors are interviewed by telephone and in person to evaluate service models, investing process, experience levels and integrity. Additional factors considered include compliance record, client retention, revenues produced for their firms and assets managed. Portfolio performance is not a criterion due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK receives a fee in exchange for rankings.

**Nominees are required to have a minimum of seven years experience, $100m minimum AUM, and a clean regulatory record. Using data on assets, households, and production, advisors are ranked on three categories: scale, growth, and professionalism. The list is broken into several sublists: RIAs (fee-only), Over $1b, Under $1b, Next Gen, Women, Solo, and Fast-Growing. Please note that participation in this ranking is free, and AdvisorHub receives no compensation from the participating advisors.

*** RMA® conferred by the Investment and Wealth Institute®.

****Achievement is based on annual production among LPL-affiliated investment programs only. Advisors are ranked top-down and qualify based on level and position.