Our Team
Kenneth B. Petersen, CFP®, EA, MBA, AIFA®
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Kenneth Petersen is a principal and co-founder of Monterey Private Wealth, Inc. An investment management professional since 1986, Ken specializes in investment portfolio management and advanced planning for professionals, retirees and foundations. He is the former president of Petersen & Ramistella, Inc.
Ken holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with an emphasis in Finance from Old Dominion University in Va., a Master of Science degree in Operations Research and Systems Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He is also a graduate of the College of Financial Planning and has been awarded the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM designation by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury recognizes Ken as a licensed Enrolled Agent tax specialist (EA). He has earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Advisor (AIFA) professional designation awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, which is associated with the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business Center for Executive Education.
Before entering investment management, Ken co-founded a software company in 1981, while active in the U.S. Marine Corps. He wrote and published a personal finance program for the IBM PC, along with other tax and accounting software. He sold his half of the company in 1988 and has dedicated himself to investment management ever since.
Ken writes a Financial Planning column that appears every Thursday morning in the Monterey County Herald. He served on the Board of Directors of the Big Sur International Marathon for its first eight years and currently serves on the Hospice Foundation Planned Giving Advisory Council, the Community Hospital Foundation Planned Giving Council and the CSUMB Planned Giving Counsel. Ken also serves as Treasurer and as a Trustee on The NPS Foundation Board of Trustees where he is also on the Executive Committee and is Chairman of the Investment Committee. He is a past-president of the Pacific Grove Rotary Club and a past-commander and a current volunteer pilot for the Monterey County Sheriff’s Aero Squadron and a member of the Sheriff’s Advisory Council.