Women’s superpower: Investing

Watch our experts share ways to tap into your ability to build a more secure financial future.

Watch now

Profile

As a Wealth Management Advisor based in Red Bank, New Jersey, Karen brings more than twenty-five years of financial industry experience to her clients, which allows her to complement her wealth planning and analysis with a deep background in equities, derivatives, and alternative investments. Karen works with a diverse clientele of high-earning individuals and families and devotes herself to helping them pursue their financial goals and objectives. She believes it is essential to be an advisor who is intimately familiar with your family and your financial goals. Someone who can see the big picture and understand the relatedness of your investments, risks, taxes, liquidity, and debt.

Karen earned an M.B.A. in Finance from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and B.A. in Economics from Lafayette College. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. In addition to serving as the Merrill Ambassador for her local chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), she is also a member of the Bank of America Women’s Exchange.

Karen resides in Fair Haven, New Jersey with her husband, Chris, and their three children. In her spare time, she enjoys running, cycling, cooking, and spending time at the beach. Karen is actively involved with Impact 100 Jersey Coast and the Monmouth Conservation Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving open space and natural habitats throughout Monmouth County, New Jersey.

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

  • EDUCATION

    University of Chicago, MBA

    Lafayette College, BA

Professional Staff

Supported by the global resources of Merrill, my team is comprised of talented and experienced individuals committed to building strong client relationships based on trust and personalized service.

Additional Resources

The following specialists do not make securities recommendations. Please contact your Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Advisor if you have questions about how a specialist might be able to assist you.

Tim Hunnicutt

Regional Lending Specialist

Bank of America, N.A.

NMLS #505197

Kevin Engelstad

Retirement Specialist

Bank of America, N.A.

Gillian Archer

Wealth Management Banking Specialist

Merrill

Where do we begin? It starts with you.

At Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, your financial advisor focuses on the things you care about most- family, goals and priorities - even as they change over the years.

Understanding Your Life

Welcome

My mission, first and foremost, is to understand you and what matters most to you. Armed with that information I can ask thoughtful questions -- listening carefully, then understanding in detail where your wealth stands today and where you’d like it to be tomorrow. I help you design and implement a personalized plan intended to help you and your family pursue financial goals while helping manage investment risk. My approach is to focus on potential solutions that can help turn goals into reality.

Philosophy

Life is always changing and growing more complex. In the same way, your priorities and needs around your family, work, health and home are always evolving. And since your finances are so deeply connected with the rest of your life, an investment approach that is specific to your unique situation can be helpful. Even if you’re accustomed to managing your finances on your own, you may find value in having a relationship with someone who understands your priorities and who has the knowledge and resources to help you make more informed decisions, no matter where you are in life.

Approach

An effective approach to wealth management requires working closely with you to help identify and define your goals. The process begins by understanding what matters most to you. We help create a financial strategy to pursue your goals that reflects your investment style and is built around your life plan.

Whether you are focused on growing, preserving or transferring wealth the team is committed to helping you address your financial goals at every stage of your life.

Your approach to investing

Drawing upon research in the field of behavioral finance, Merrill developed the Investment Personality Assessment to help us get to know you better as an investor and potentially help you refine your own investing preferences. By gaining a deeper understanding of how you think and feel about investing through this assessment, we can customize the financial approach we develop together to help you pursue what matters most to you. Our Investment Personality Assessment is one of the ways to help us get to know you - to understand your goals and priorities. These questions will help us provide you with additional insights and resources.

Understanding your goals and priorities

Your life and goals change. We have tools to help you keep track of these changes so they can be reflected in your financial approach.

Capabilities

Merrill’s process is designed to help deliver a customized, comprehensive experience to assist you not only in wealth accumulation and preservation, but in areas that go beyond investments. Providing you with access to the investment insights of Merrill, trust and fiduciary services from Bank of America Private Bank, and the banking and lending solutions of Bank of America offers a way to help you manage all of the pieces of your financial life. Working one-on-one with a Merrill advisor means you have a single point of contact to help you with potential strategies for transferring wealth to the younger generation.

Focus On Women

While virtually all investors can receive help pursuing their unique financial goals, my primary focus is on working with women investors. Whether you’re contemplating retirement, deciding on a career change, wondering if you can afford to fund a child’s education or care for an aging parent, the process begins by getting to know you and understanding how prepared you may be to pursue your financial journey.

Your goals, your family and your finances are interrelated, and your financial future and that of your family can be shaped by the decisions you make. Listening carefully to your priorities the team can help you take the steps necessary to move forward. We can help you with strategies for healthcare costs (even if you’re decades away from retirement), and help you evaluate whether your income is sufficient to meet living expenses without having to make lifestyle adjustments. With a dedicated advisor at your side you can gain personalized investment strategies from Merrill, with access to the extensive banking capabilities of Bank of America.

This material should be regarded as general or educational information on healthcare or Social Security considerations and is not intended to provide specific healthcare or social security advice. If you have questions regarding your particular situation, please contact your legal or tax advisor.

Staying on Track

We understand that both your life and the financial markets can change over time. By checking in to discuss changes in your life and revisiting your financial approach, our goal is to help you stay on track to achieve what's most important to you.



Reviews to help you
stay on track

We’ll meet with you to review your goals and the progress you’ve made toward reaching them. We’ll also discuss any adjustments needed to your financial approach to help you stay on course.



    Changes in your life
    and to your goals

    Your life and goals change. As these changes occur, we can update your approach to reflect them.

    #DigitalMerrill

    MyMerrill is your online destination for access to your financial information, secure communications, and a robust offering of tools and capabilities.

    Your advisor is a click away within our site or mobile apps

    You can manage account security with our customizable security capabilities such as touch ID, one time passcode, and other security features

    Access to your complete financial life is available with My Financial Picture, Merrill’s asset aggregation tool

      Let’s Have a Conversation

      Helping you reach your goals starts with getting to know you personally. Through understanding what matters most to you, together I can help you create a financial approach that reflects your personality. Only then can I offer an approach that is built around your life priorities and the advice you need to help you address fluctuations in the market and changes in your life. Let’s work together to help you achieve your goals.

      Why Merrill?

      As Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Advisors, we will sort through the financial complexities of your life, helping you build a customized investment approach to address your needs and pursue your goals.


      MLBrochure.png

      We put you first, every day.
      Learn more about the dedicated one-on-one relationship you can have with a Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Advisor.

      Anthem video thumb.jpg 
      Transcript of Video 

      No question too big or moment too small
      For every question you have, every decision you make and every answer you need, we are with you to listen and help guide you along the many paths your life can take. Watch this video to see some questions we can address together.


      The Power of the Right Advisor®
      Working with a dedicated Merrill advisor means you get personalized investment strategies from Merrill plus access to comprehensive financial solutions only Bank of America can deliver.

      Personalized advice from a dedicated financial advisor.

      We get to know you and your family, your financial situation and what matters most to you.

      A comprehensive approach, built around your life’s priorities.

      Drawing from our experience and the best thinking of Merrill, together we will design an approach that reflects your unique needs, priorities and financial situation.

      Adjusting your investment approach as your life and the markets change.

      We will work to help you stay on track, regardless of what the markets are doing.