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MSA Financial
MSA Financial began operations in 1997, founded by its current managing partner Michael Cammarata and fellow CFP® practitioners in Braintree, Massachusetts.
MSA Financial
MSA Financial began operations in 1997, founded by its current managing partner Michael Cammarata and fellow CFP® practitioners in Braintree, Massachusetts. The firm operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor, requiring every advisor to hold the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification. MSA's growth has historically come from client referrals, a pattern that suggests deep reliance on multigenerational family relationships and local business networks across New England. MSA constructs portfolios using individual securities rather than packaged products, with an emphasis on tax-aware asset allocation and risk management drawn from navigating the dot-com crash and the 2008 financial crisis. The firm offers strategies for concentrated equity positions — stock options, restricted stock, and 10b5-1 plans — that serve corporate executives. Outside of equity and fixed-income management, the firm provides access to insurance solutions and estate-planning coordination, acting as the central financial quarterback. The practice serves clients across Massachusetts from offices in Braintree, Sandwich, and Framingham. The advisor bench includes three managing partners or directors — Michael Cammarata, Paul Marino, and Rick Stram — alongside four additional advisors, bringing the total investment and planning team to seven professionals. MSA also operates a secondary location on Cape Cod in Sandwich, Massachusetts, and maintains a presence in Framingham by appointment. In 2024 and 2025, the firm continued to market its fiduciary RIA model to families and corporate executives without publicly launching new pooled vehicles or separate business lines. MSA’s structural distinction is an all-CFP® advisory bench operating under a strict fiduciary RIA charter, a configuration that remains rare among community-scale wealth practices. The firm does not manufacture proprietary products, charge commissions, or maintain a broker-dealer affiliation — aligning its revenue with advice and asset-management fees only. This independent architecture leaves succession as its central governance puzzle, with the next generation represented by senior associate Brandon Roy, signaling an early-stage internal pipeline.
General information
Firm type
Bank / Wealth / Trust
Year founded
1997
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Braintree
Corporate office
25 Braintree Hill Park, Suite 303, Braintree, MA 02184, United States
Additional offices
Sandwich, MA, United States · Framingham, MA, United States
Principals
Michael Cammarata
Financial Advisor, Managing Partner
Paul Marino
Financial Advisor, Managing Director
Rick Stram
Financial Advisor, Managing Director
Ryan Zimmerman
Financial Advisor, Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at MSA Financial?
MSA Financial's investment and planning decisions are led by its managing partner Michael Cammarata and managing directors Paul Marino and Rick Stram, all of whom hold the CFP® designation. The firm operates as a partnership without a separate CIO, giving each advisor responsibility for their client portfolios within the firm's centralized risk-management framework. Day-to-day execution blends the team's collective experience across securities selection, tax planning, and insurance coordination.
Is MSA Financial a fiduciary, and how does that shape its service?
Yes, MSA is an SEC Registered Investment Advisory Firm, and every one of its advisors is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, binding the practice to a fiduciary standard. This means MSA is legally obligated to place client interests ahead of its own revenue, and the firm reinforces this by refusing to align with any single financial product manufacturer. The model eliminates commission-driven conflicts common in broker-dealer-affiliated wealth practices.
Does MSA Financial run pooled funds or only separate accounts?
MSA manages assets primarily through separately managed accounts tailored to each client's tax situation, risk tolerance, and financial goals, rather than offering proprietary pooled funds. The firm gains market exposure through individual securities, which allows for precise tax-loss harvesting and concentrated-position management. It does not publicly market a private fund vehicle or a fund-of-funds structure.
How does MSA Financial serve corporate executives?
MSA runs a dedicated Corporate Executive Services practice that tackles equity compensation, including strategies for exercising stock options, managing restricted stock, implementing 10b5-1 trading plans, and diversifying concentrated single-stock holdings. The service is paired with comprehensive tax and estate planning, positioning the firm to handle liquidity events for Massachusetts-based public-company executives.
Which client segments does MSA Financial primarily serve?
MSA's client base includes high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners, trusts, and corporate executives, with a geographic concentration in New England. The firm's referral-driven growth model suggests deep ties to multigenerational wealth in the Boston-to-Cape Cod corridor, where all three of its offices are located.
How is MSA Financial planning for succession?
MSA has introduced a generational layer with senior associate Brandon Roy, CFP®, indicating an early effort to build internal continuity. The firm has not disclosed a formal ownership transition plan, but the presence of a next-generation advisor alongside the founding partners suggests a deliberate, slow-built succession pipeline rather than an external sale process.
Does MSA Financial maintain philanthropic structures, or is it purely commercial?
There is no standalone philanthropic foundation disclosed in MSA's public materials, but its estate-planning and tax-strategy services are designed to integrate charitable giving into clients' overall financial architecture. MSA operates as a commercial RIA, with philanthropy handled as a planning component rather than a separate entity.
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