Owner, President, Visionary
Stephen Serati, AIF, BFA, WMS
Three things have always pulled me in: people, business, and investing. Financial services sits right at that crossroads. I've been a full-time financial advisor since 1989, working with smaller independent firms for years before starting my own in 2003. I earned my BA in Business Administration and Public Relations from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, and hold my Series 24, 7, 6, 66, and 63 licenses along with my AIF, BFA, and WMS credentials. But the real foundation came earlier. Growing up in an Italian immigrant family on "The Hill" in St. Louis, I sat at my grandparents' kitchen table listening to stories about escaping war-torn Italy and building something meaningful in this country. They taught us that with education, hard work, sacrifice, and service to others, you could create a life worth being proud of. That belief is what I've tried to build at Millenia.
I'm the owner, president, and most senior advisor at Millenia, and my focus is on where this industry is heading. We specialize in helping people navigate retirement, whether they've already stopped working or they're getting ready to. But what excites me most right now is the transformation happening across our profession. The industry is consolidating and evolving quickly, and I see enormous opportunity in that. I invest my time mentoring the people who will lead this firm forward, because building something that lasts across generations has always been the point.
My wife Cathy and I have been married nearly 40 years, and we split our time between Chesterfield, Missouri, and Punta Gorda, Florida. Our family includes our kids, Mary Catherine and Michael, daughter-in-law Jane, son-in-law Cody, grandkids Sarah and Natalie, and three dogs: Chloe, Misty, and Rae Barboni. Outside of work, I'm into food, travel, music, history, and languages. Cathy and I stay active with biking, hiking, working out, and playing pickleball regularly. I cook a lot, especially Italian, so staying active isn't optional. Until recently, I served on Osaic's inaugural NextGen Advisory Council, working with leadership to address the advisor shortage and attract more women and underrepresented groups to the profession. I'm also part of the Association of Preferred Financial Advisors, an invite-only group for top advisors focused on development and coaching.
