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JAMES PETER GAUTHIER

JAMES P. GAUTHIER

CERITY PARTNERS LLC | PARTNER
TOWSON, MD 21204
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CRD#: 1754852
JAMES PETER GAUTHIER

Professional summary


JAMES PETER GAUTHIER, who also goes by James P Gauthier, Jim Gauthier, is a registered financial advisor currently at CERITY PARTNERS LLC located in Towson, Maryland.

JAMES is registered as an IAR (Investment Advisor Representative) and started their career in finance in 1987. JAMES has worked at 12 firms and has passed the Series 66, Series 63 and Series 7 exams.

Biography


Jim is a Partner in the Maryland office. He brings over 30 years of investment experience to Cerity Partners. Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Jim served as a Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Maryland Capital Management where he oversaw several of the firm’s investment strategies in addition to affluent client portfolios. Before his time at Maryland Capital Management, he worked as a Senior Investment Counselor for PNC/Hawthorn. Prior to that, Jim was a Managing Director at BlackRock Inc. He also spent 9 years at Legg Mason Investment Counsel as Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager.
top-8-questions

Question & Answer


Are you a "fiduciary"?
Yes

Aliases


James P Gauthier | Jim Gauthier

Other business activities


Outside business activity is any business or activity undertaken by an advisor that is outside the scope of their relationship with their firm (e.g., consulting services, real estate, freelance work, teaching, etc.). Investors should stay informed about these activities to ensure no conflicts of interest.
The advisor shows no other business activity.

Blog Corner


CRS (Client Relationship Summary) - RIA


CERITY PARTNERS LLC - Registered Investment Advisory firm

Version Date: Thu Mar 28 2024

Cerity Partners LLC is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an Investment Advisor with offices throughout the United States. Registration of an Investment Advisor does not imply any level of skill or training.

Brokerage and investment advisory services and fees differ, and it is important as a retail investor to understand the difference. Free and simple tools are available to research firms and financial professionals at Investor.gov/CRS, which also provides educational materials about broker-dealers, investment advisers, and investing.

Types of Services Offered:

Cerity Partners offers the following services to high net worth and retail investors: Investment Advisory, Financial Planning, and Tax and Tax Planning. We customize all services to our clients’ individual needs by determining your specific goals, objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, investment restrictions and other factors that affect the financial advice you receive. We have developed investment risk profiles used in our investment advisory, wealth planning, and retirement and financial planning services to help you understand the potential risks and rewards associated with your investments and provide our advisors with a guide to managing your investments. We continuously monitor investment accounts to ensure compliance with your stated goals and objectives.

Cerity Partners typically receives discretionary authority from the client to select third-party investment managers and/or select the identity and amount of securities to be bought or sold during an advisory relationship. We only exercise our investment discretion consistent with the stated investment risk profile for the particular client account. Cerity Partners also offers non-discretionary services where we seek prior authorization from the client prior to implementing our recommendations.

As a condition for starting and maintaining an investment advisory relationship, Cerity Partners generally requires a minimum portfolio size of $2,000,000 and a minimum investment advisory annual fee of $20,000. These minimums may have the effect of making our services impractical for certain individuals or entities. We, in our sole discretion, may waive our stated account minimums.

For a more detailed description of our services and account conditions, please refer to Item 4 and Item 5 of Cerity Partners ADV Part 2A Disclosure Brochure or at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/151559


Questions to ask your Professional:
  • Given my financial situation, should I choose an investment advisory service? Why or why not?
  • How will you choose investments to recommend to me?
  • What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education and other qualifications? What
  • do these qualifications mean?

Cerity Partners charges asset-based, fixed, and hourly fees. Our fee for wealth management services, including investment advisory, is up to 1.50% per year of assets under management, and the fee is negotiable based on certain criteria. While our standard agreement is inclusive of all services, we may from time to time quote a fixed annual retainer for services based on the scope of the engagement. We may enter into performance fee arrangements with qualified clients. You will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments. Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time. Please make sure you understand what other fees and costs you are paying, such as custodian fees and underlying investment fees. For more information on our fees and how we calculate fees, please refer to Item 5 of Cerity Partners ADV Part 2A Disclosure Brochure or at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/151559. Our advisors are compensated based on the amount of assets under management that they personally manage.


Questions to ask your Professional:
  • Help me understand how these fees and costs might affect my investments. If I give you $1,000,000 to invest, how much will go to fees and costs, and how much will be invested for me?

When we act as your investment adviser, we are required to act in your best interest and not put our own interest ahead of your interests. At the same time, the way Cerity Partners is compensated creates some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the investment advice we provide you. Here are some examples to help you understand what this means:

  • Cerity Partners’ affiliate, Sage Advisors (“Sage”) manages proprietary and unaffiliated private investment funds and creates a conflict of interest if we recommend Sage over other unaffiliated funds invested in a similar fashion.

  • The more assets in a client’s account(s) will result in more fees, so Cerity Partners may have an incentive to recommend the client increase the assets in their accounts.

  • Performance-based fee arrangements create a conflict of interest and an incentive to recommend certain investments over an investment with a different fee arrangement.

  • Cerity Partners may accept sponsorship of client and prospect events from certain third-party managers creating a conflict of interest if we recommend certain managers from whom we accept sponsorships over others that do not provide sponsorships. For further information on Sage, performance-based fees, sponsorships and our conflicts of interest, please refer to Item 10, Item 6, Item 12 of Cerity Partners ADV Part 2A Disclosure Brochure or at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/151559


Questions to ask your Professional:
  • How might your conflicts of interest affect me, and how will you address them?

Certified licenses


Advisors may have various certifications and credentials from different organizations. AdvisorCheck highlights these seven certifications - AIF®, CFP®, ChFC®, CFA, CLU®, CIMA®, CPWA®
None

Education


Towson University

B.S. - Finance

Towson University

B.A. - Economics

Loyola University of Maryland

Experience


Current

January 3, 2023 - Present

CERITY PARTNERS LLC

Office #1: 210 Allegheny Avenue, Fourth Floor, Towson, MD 21204
RIA
CRD#: 151559
TOWSON, MD
Past

June 21, 2016 - March 3, 2023

MARYLAND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC

RIA
CRD#: 133329
TOWSON, MD
Past

December 2, 2009 - November 12, 2010

VANSANT MEWSHAW

RIA
CRD#: 106858
LUTHERVILLE, MD
Past

October 1, 2008 - April 2, 2009

BLACKROCK INVESTMENTS, LLC

BD
CRD#: 38642
NEW YORK, NY
Past

September 16, 2008 - April 3, 2009

BLACKROCK INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC

RIA
CRD#: 108928
PRINCETON, NJ
Past

October 10, 2007 - December 17, 2007

1919 INVESTMENT COUNSEL, LLC

RIA
CRD#: 133370
BALTIMORE, MD
Past

October 4, 2000 - June 25, 2007

LEGG MASON INVESTMENT COUNSEL

RIA
CRD#: 110630
BALTIMORE, MD
Past

September 1, 1997 - August 21, 1998

DB ALEX. BROWN LLC

BD
CRD#: 17790
BALTIMORE, MD
Past

June 20, 1994 - September 1, 1997

ALEX. BROWN & SONS INCORPORATED

BD
CRD#: 20
Past

March 7, 1994 - May 24, 1994

TOUCHSTONE SECURITIES, INC.

BD
CRD#: 1526
CINCINNATI, OH
Past

October 21, 1993 - March 25, 1994

CHEVY CHASE FINANCIAL SERVICES

BD
CRD#: 14894
BETHESDA, MD
Past

April 22, 1993 - October 7, 1993

CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC.

BD
CRD#: 7059
NEW YORK, NY
Past

November 1, 1989 - April 16, 1993

ALEX. BROWN & SONS INCORPORATED

BD
CRD#: 20
Past

December 16, 1987 - August 30, 1988

CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC.

BD
CRD#: 7059
NEW YORK, NY

Primary Firm SEC Registration


This SEC-registered firm can serve clients nationwide. Some states may require the firm to submit a notice filing if the firm has more than 5 clients or a physical office there. You can view these state-level filings under the section titled "State Registrations and Notice Filings".
CP
CERITY PARTNERS LLC
CERITY PARTNERS | MILSTEIN ADVISORS LLC | HPM PARTNERS SFO ALLIANCE | HPM PARTNERS LLC | CERITY PARTNERS LLC

CRD#: 151559 / SEC#: 801-70719

RIA
Registered Investment Advisory firm - (10/22/2009 Approved)

State Registrations and Notice Filings


Listed states reflect where the advisor is authorized to serve clients under state regulations.

IAR
means the advisor is registered as an Investment Advisor Representative in this state and is authorized to provide investment advice to clients there.

Highlighted states indicate IAR registrations

IAR
Maryland
(1/3/2023)

Exams


State Security Law Exam
RR
IAR
Series 66
Date: 11/14/2008
Uniform Combined State Law Examination
State Security Law Exam
General Industry/Product Exam

Current Firm


CP
CERITY PARTNERS LLC
CERITY PARTNERS | MILSTEIN ADVISORS LLC | HPM PARTNERS SFO ALLIANCE | HPM PARTNERS LLC | CERITY PARTNERS LLC

CRD#: 151559 / SEC#: 801-70719

RIA
Registered Investment Advisory firm - (10/22/2009 Approved)
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Contact information


Main Address
99 Park Avenue 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Mailing Address
Phone number
(212) 850-4260
Established
Firm type
Fiscal year end
# of Employees
1,166

SEC notice filing (53 States and Territories)


Blank US states mapAlaskaHawaiiAlabamaArkansasArizonaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIowaIdahoIllinoisIndianaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMassachusettsMarylandMaineMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMississippiMontanaNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNebraskaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNevadaNew YorkOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVirginiaVermontWisconsinWest VirginiaWyoming

Documents


Customer Relationship Summary (CRS / SEC)Latest Form ADV

Part 2 Brochures

CP ADV PART 2A (9/18/2025)

Regulatory assets under management


Total Number of Accounts19,810
AUM (Assets Under Management)$ 122,848,693,051

Accountant surprise examination report


Filing DateForm ADV-E CoverForm ADV-E Report
10/23/2025
Cover Page
07/24/2024
09/28/2023

Red Flags


Disclosures can be potential red flags, including customer disputes, regulatory fines, employer terminations, bankruptcies, judgments, liens, or certain criminal activities.

Check for any disclosures as part of your thorough research when choosing an advisor.

Company Information


CERITY PARTNERS LLC

PARTNERCRD#: 151559Towson, MD 21204

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