Our Team

As I enter my 23^rd year as a financial advisor, I continue to be struck by the level of complexity that people face on a daily basis. People delegate some decisions and gather advice on others, hoping the professionals they choose to partner with are competent and trustworthy. This is the core of how I see my work for my clients. Together we define what success looks like. We make informed decisions on the way there, year after year.  

I received my bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University Law School. I was raised in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, attending New Trier East High School.

I’ve had an unusually diverse career, focused almost entirely on financial services. I’ve held positions as a public defender, manager in the corporate tax department of a “big eight” accounting firm, and stock options trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. As my interest in financial services grew, I took positions in brokerage firms as an attorney, chief compliance officer, and eventually branch manager. These positions greatly inform what I know, what I’ve seen, and how I conduct myself as an advisor. 

For more than 10 years, I served as an expert witness and case consultant in securities arbitration. I have held every license needed to supervise the functions of a brokerage firm. 

With this background, I turned my attention to advising families, founding the predecessor to North Star Financial Advisors in 2003. I maintain the highest level of independence—working only for my clients.

I’m an alumnus of the Michigan gymnastics team and Michigan football cheerleaders. I love being a part of the alumni cheer squad on the field every homecoming.

Michael K. Stearns, JD, is proud to have been recognized as a Founder's Club advisor for 2020—a distinction based on annual production that places him among the top 37 percent of advisors affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network.

Each year, Commonwealth, the Registered Investment Adviser–broker/dealer that helps us process investment transactions on your behalf, recognizes Founder's Club advisors by inviting them to an exclusive gathering of their peers, leading industry experts, and Commonwealth home office staff. Founder's Club advisors benefit from an intensive learning and networking experience designed to help them hone their expertise, share best practices, and provide ever-higher levels of service, education, and leadership to their clients.