Executive Team
Kenneth R. Ferrone, CFA®, CFS®
Kenneth R. Ferrone is the chief investment officer and chief compliance officer for Northeastern Star Asset Management, an SEC-registered investment advisor founded in 2014. Mr. Ferrone graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, with a BA in Economics and has been in the investment industry for over 20 years. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation by the CFA® Institute, as well as the Certified Fund Specialist and Board Certified in Mutual Funds designations from the Institute of Business and Finance.
Mr. Ferrone manages portfolios for individuals, trusts, endowments, as well as businesses and pension plans. He has been a co-portfolio manager of a separately managed stock portfolio focusing on the Large Value asset class and focusing his investment research and portfolio construction on Modern Portfolio Theory. With his economics and investment background, he utilizes multiple investments and asset classes in designing and investing client portfolios. He looks to focus on downside risk and looks for investment opportunities in all market cycles.
Mr. Ferrone resides in Enola, Pennsylvania, and enjoys spending time with his family, exercising, weightlifting, and watching hockey.
Paul S. Dubendorf, CFP®
Paul S. Dubendorf is the president and co-founder of Northeastern Star Asset Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor that was founded in 2014. Mr. Dubendorf graduated from Penn State University in State College, PA, with a BS in Business Administration and has worked in the investment industry for over 14 years. He has earned the Certified Financial Planning designation by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.
Mr. Dubendorf believes that the Certified Financial Planning designation signals to clients that he has not only met rigorous education, experience, and testing requirements but that he also has agreed to abide by a strict code of professional and ethical conduct. As a result, he will always put the client’s needs at the center of every financial planning engagement. Mr. Dubendorf also believes that his tax planning experience enhances his ability to serve his client’s financial planning needs.
Mr. Dubendorf’s experience working with a wide variety of clients and circumstances over the years grounds him in his ability to provide seasoned expertise and advice. His clients value long-term relationships; they include entrepreneurs, professionals, and high-net-worth individuals and families. Individuals are often seeking advice due to pending life transitions that pose many questions and planning opportunities, such as retirement or new life circumstances, and he relishes the role of assisting people from all walks of life to plan financially in the proper manner for the future.
Mr. Dubendorf is uniquely qualified to guide clients through the financial planning topics of investments, income tax planning, retirement planning, employee benefits, estate planning, risk management, and insurance. He has a passion for gaining the trust and confidence of clients, fully understanding their goals, objectives, and fears about the future, and then assembling a financial plan that will serve as a monitoring tool to measure results. He is also the co-owner of Dube's Tax and Payroll Services, Inc., with his wife Christine, a full-service tax preparation firm that prepares individual and business tax returns, mainly for clients.
Mr. Dubendorf resides in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania and enjoys playing golf.
Definitions
Chartered Financial Analyst, CFA®, is a designation granted by the CFA Institute. A candidate for the designation must meet one of the following requirements: a Bachelor's Degree (or equivalent); four years of professional work experience (does not have to be investment related); or a combination of professional work and college experience that totals at least four years (part-time positions do not qualify, and the four-year total must be accrued prior to enrollment). A candidate must also pledge to adhere to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, apply for membership to a local CFA member society, and complete the CFA Program. The CFA program is organized into three levels, each culminating in a six-hour exam and approximately 300 hours of self-study per level.
Certified Fund Specialist CFS® is a designation granted by the Institute of Business & Finance. A candidate for the designation must meet one of the following requirements: a Bachelor's Degree or 2,000 hours of financial services work experience. A candidate must also complete the Self Study Program, pass three exams and a case study, and meet the continuing education requirements of thirty hours every two years.
Certified Financial Planner CFP is a designation granted by the Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards, Inc. A candidate for the designation must meet the following requirements: Bachelor's Degree (or higher) and three years of full-time personal financial planning experience or the equivalent part-time experience. The candidate is required to complete a CFP-board registered program or hold one of the following: CPA, ChFC, CLU, CFA, Ph.D. (in business or economics), Doctor of Business Administration, or Attorney's License, along with meeting the thirty hours every two years continuing education requirements.