With Cary Carbonaro, Managing Wealth Advisor and Women & Wealth Ambassador at Ashton Thomas
Overview
Cary Carbonaro learned from her own experience that there was both a gap and an opportunity in attracting and retaining women clients and advisors. In this episode, Cary shares specific advice on what firms are doing wrong and how they can get it right.
About this episode…
In our world, most firms are focused on growth. However, they often overlook one of the biggest and most significant opportunities: women.
That includes women as clients, who are expected to control two-thirds of all wealth over the next decade. It also includes women as advisors, who remain significantly underrepresented in the industry.
Cary Carbonaro has made it her mission to positively impact the world of women when it comes to advice and representation in the wealth management world.
Cary’s extensive career includes leadership roles at ACM Wealth, Goldman Sachs, where she served as Vice President and Head of Office, and United Capital, where she founded and led the Women’s Leadership division.
Today, with a client base that’s more than 75% women, Cary has built a $300mm advisory business at Ashton Thomas, focusing on empathy, education, and empowerment.
She has also been an outspoken advocate as the Women and Wealth Ambassador for the firm and in the media, advising on how to support women in wealth and how to move from recruiting slogans to real change.
In this episode, Cary and Mindy Diamond discuss:
- Cary’s personal journey from the wirehouse world to independence—and how her experience influences her work.
- The opportunity in serving women clients—and what firms should be doing differently to win in this market.
- The gap in attracting and retaining women advisors—and how to build a practice that excels with top talent.
- What advisors often get wrong about “selling” to women—and how to fix it.
- And how authenticity and advocacy can drive both purpose and growth
Cary’s success story is one that resonates with advisors on many levels, and her mission is one we can all get behind—and learn from.
Want to learn more about where, why, and how advisors like you are moving? Click to contact us or call 908-879-1002.
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Cary Carbonaro
Managing Wealth Advisor and Women and Wealth Ambassador
Cary Carbonaro is an award-winning Certified Financial Planner™ professional with over 25 years of experience, and currently serves as Managing Wealth Advisor and Women and Wealth Ambassador for Ashton Thomas. She leads a multimillion-dollar financial planning practice, specializing in empowering women to overcome financial challenges and increase their financial literacy.
Cary’s extensive career includes leadership roles at ACM Wealth, Goldman Sachs where she was Vice President and Head of Office, and United Capital where she founded and led the Women’s Leadership division. At United Capital, she earned titles such as Diamond Office Winner, Managing Director, Partner, Voice of Women, FinLife Coach, and MVP.
Cary is the author of the bestselling book The Money Queen’s Guide: For Women Who Want to Build Wealth and Banish Fear, Morgan James, Oct 2015. Cary’s second book. Women and Wealth: A Playbook To Empower Clients and Unlock Their Fortune, published by Wiley April 29, 2025. It was #1 New Release in Wealth Management, Economics and Business Finance.
She serves as a CFP® Board Ambassador, representing the financial industry in the media, and has been honored six times on Investopedia’s Top 100 Financial Advisors list. In 2016, she was awarded the prestigious Investment News Women to Watch recognition. In 2024, Cary was appointed as the first female member of the Nasdaq Advisor Council. She has also endowed a scholarship at the State University of New York at Cortland for Women in Business, where she was the founding president of Sigma Delta Tau sorority.
Cary is the founding president of the Women’s Giving Alliance, a giving circle in the South Lake Community Foundation, and a member of the Benefactors Circle at the Center for Financial Planning, where she advocates for advancing women in the financial industry.
Cary’s knowledge and expertise are highly sought after, and she frequently appears as a commentator on local and national television news channels. She has spoken around the world on financial literacy, with a focus on advocating for women and guiding them to financial empowerment.
