Cary Carbonaro, MBA, CFP®

Cary Carbonaro is an award-winning, internationally recognized personal finance expert with more than 25 years of experience in wealth management. She currently serves as Managing Advisor and Women and Wealth Ambassador for Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, where she helps clients and advisors navigate the financial and emotional dimensions of wealth through a lens of empowerment and inclusion.

For over a decade, Cary has served as a CFP Board Ambassador, championing financial literacy and elevating the visibility of the profession. Prior to joining Ashton Thomas, she was a Partner and Head of Women’s Leadership at United Capital, which was later acquired by Goldman Sachs.

Cary has been widely recognized for her leadership and impact. She is a recipient of the InvestmentNews Women to Watch award and has been ranked multiple times among Investopedia’s Top 100 Financial Advisors, including a No. 4 national ranking. In 2024, she was appointed as the sole female member of the Nasdaq Advisory Council, and in 2025 she was honored as InvestmentNews’ DEI Trailblazer of the Year. She is also part of the Milken Institute’s Women in Financial Security Initiative.

Cary is the author of Women and Wealth: A Playbook to Empower Clients and Unlock Their Fortune (Wiley, April 2025), a guide for financial advisors seeking to better serve the growing female investor population. She is also the author of The Money Queen’s Guide for Women Who Want to Build Wealth and Banish Fear (2015), an Amazon #1 bestseller in Wealth Management across several countries.

A frequent media commentator, Cary has appeared on Fox & Friends, The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, CBS, ABC, NPR, and Newsmax, and is a regular guest on Fox 5, PBS’s Nightly Business Report, and WPIX-NY. She has spoken worldwide on financial literacy, women’s empowerment, and the future of advice.

Cary is deeply committed to advancing women in finance and philanthropy. She serves on the Women’s Leadership Association Advisory Council, is the Founding President and a Legacy Member of the Women’s Giving Alliance and sits on the Cortland College Foundation Board.

She holds a B.A. from SUNY Cortland and an MBA from Long Island University. She endowed a scholarship for women in business at SUNY Cortland and is a member of the Benefactor Circle for the CFP Board’s Center for Financial Planning.