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STEVEN SCOTT WILLIAMS

Steven Scott Williams

PARTNER & CHIEF CLIENT OFFICER·CERITY PARTNERS
Irvine, CA
·CRD# 4147927·26 years experience

Professional Summary

STEVEN SCOTT WILLIAMS, who also goes by Steve Williams, is a registered financial advisor currently at CERITY PARTNERS LLC located in Irvine, California. STEVEN is registered as an IAR (Investment Advisor Representative) and started their career in finance in 2000. STEVEN has worked at 10 firms and has passed the Series 65, Series 63, SIE, Series 7 and Series 24 exams.

At a Glance

Always Fiduciary

Fiduciary Standard

Fee Structure

Account Minimum

Active Clients

Fiduciary Standard

Fee Structure

Account Minimum

Active Clients

Biography

Steve is a Partner based in our Costa Mesa office. As Chief Client Officer, he is responsible for growing the firm’s partnerships and client relationships. Steve also advises individuals and their families, companies and their executives, and nonprofit organizations. He is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Throughout his entire career, Steve has been involved in providing investment and wealth management services to private and institutional clients. Prior to joining Cerity Partners, he was...

Other Aliases

Steve Williams

Blog Corner

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Videos & Posts

This advisor has not added any videos or posts yet.

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Contact Information

Website

xxxxxxxxxx.xxx

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Disclosures are events reported to regulators, such as customer disputes, regulatory actions, employment separations, or financial events. Some are resolved, denied, or contested — a disclosure is not a verdict. We recommend asking an advisor directly about any disclosure on their record.

Disclosures on record.

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.

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Years of Experience

26 years in the financial services industry

Current & Past Employments

CERITY PARTNERS LLC·CRD# 151559
RIA
18881 Von Karman Avenue Floor 5, Suite 500, Irvine, CA 92612
October 26, 2021 - Present
CANTOR FITZGERALD & CO.·CRD# 134
BD
Newport Beach, CA
January 4, 2016 - November 3, 2020
STRATCAP SECURITIES, LLC·CRD# 151152
BD
New York, NY
June 1, 2015 - December 2, 2015
REALTY CAPITAL SECURITIES, LLC·CRD# 145454
BD
Costa Mesa, CA
August 12, 2009 - December 8, 2015
KBS CAPITAL MARKETS GROUP LLC·CRD# 132299
BD
Newport Beach, CA
January 27, 2006 - July 15, 2009
DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES INC.·CRD# 2525
BD
New York, NY
October 21, 2003 - August 2, 2005
DWS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AMERICAS, INC.·CRD# 104518
RIA
Costa Mesa, CA
June 19, 2001 - August 12, 2005
DEAM INVESTOR SERVICES, INC.·CRD# 754
BD
New York, NY
May 17, 2001 - October 21, 2003
SCUDDER WEISEL CAPITAL, LLC·CRD# 104088
BD
San Francisco, CA
November 22, 2000 - April 30, 2001
J.P. MORGAN INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENTS INC.·CRD# 102920
BD
New York, NY
March 20, 2000 - November 15, 2000

Education

University of Connecticut

·

MBA

MBA

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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 - SEC (10/22/2009 Approved)

Contact Information

Main Address

99 Park Avenue 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016

Phone Number

(212) 850-4260

# of Employees

1,529

SEC notice filing (53 States and Territories)

Registered to provide investment advisory services in 53 US states and territories.

Documents

Customer Relationship Summary (CRS / SEC)Latest Form ADV

Part 2 Brochures

CP ADV PART 2A (3/31/2026)

Regulatory Assets Under Management

Total Number of Accounts

26,230

AUM (Assets Under Management)

$161,675,524,141

Accountant Surprise Examination Report

Filing DateForm ADV-E CoverForm ADV-E Report
07/23/2026Cover PageReport
10/23/2025Cover PageReport
07/24/2024Cover PageReport
09/28/2023Cover PageReport

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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.

TAFF AVENUE, LLC; INVESTMENT RELATED;32251 PEPPERTREE BEND, SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA 92675; RENTAL PROPERTY; NO ROLE/TITLE; 1/1/2016; 0 HRS/MTH; 0 DURING SECURITY TRADING HOURS; OWN AND RENT INVESTMENT PROPERTY. WIFE HANDLES THE DAY TO DAY BUSINESS AS NEEDED.

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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 - SEC (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.
IAR
California
(10/26/2021)

Don't see your state listed? The advisor may still be able to work with you under the federal De Minimis Rule, which allows up to five investment advisory clients in a state without registration. Some states, like TX, LA, NE, and NH, may still require registration or notice filing. Contact the advisor or their firm to confirm their investment advisory availability in your state.

Exams

Financial professionals may take different exams throughout their careers based on the types of services they provide and roles they perform.

Series 65 — Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination

Passed Oct 2021About the Series 65 exam

Series 63 — Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination

Passed May 2000About the Series 63 exam

SIE — Securities Industry Essentials Examination

Passed Oct 2018About the SIE exam

Series 7 — General Securities Representative Examination

Passed Mar 2000About the Series 7 exam

Series 24 — General Securities Principal Examination

Passed Oct 2009About the Series 24 exam

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CRS (Client Relationship Summary) - RIA

CP

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.

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?

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