Cary Carbonaro, who sold her advisory firm United Capital to Joe Duran in 2012, has joined Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, a registered investment advisor acquired last year by Arax Investment Partners, a wealth management platform of backed by private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners. She is joining as a wealth management advisor and Women and Wealth Ambassador for the firm.
She is joined by Richard Westhelle, who will serve as senior wealth advisor. The team previously managed approximately $210 million in assets under management.
Carbonaro most recently served as senior vice president and director of women and wealth at ACM Wealth. Prior to that, she was a vice president at Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, which she joined through Goldman's United Capital acquisition in 2019. She left Goldman Sachs in May 2022, and many of her clients followed.
Last September, Carbonaro spoke about her experiences at Goldman Sachs on an episode of “The Healthy Advisor” podcast.
Carbonaro has been a longtime advocate for women in the financial services industry and financial education for women.
“Cary's career embodies so much of what we value as a firm,” said Aaron Brodt, founder and CEO of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth. “As a tireless and fearless advocate for women's financial independence, Cary has poured herself into educating and inspiring women to be financially healthy and secure. We are honored that she has chosen to associate with Ashton Thomas to continue this important work and look forward to supporting her efforts in the coming days.”
Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., Ashton Thomas was founded in 2010 and provides fee-based financial planning, investment portfolio management, retirement plan counseling and financial education to foundations, businesses and affluent individuals and families.
Arax has grown rapidly since entering the wealth management space with its multi-boutique platform. It announced its investment in Ashton Thomas last September and has made one number of purchases since then. As of June, the firm had about $19 billion in total assets under management and advice across its firms.