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Carrano & Associates

Wealth Management Team
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Merrill Lynch
Wealth Management


Carrano & Associates’ mission is to help our clients define and pursue their vision of financial success.

Thank you for visiting our site.  We invite you to learn more about Carrano & Associates and the differences in our service clients appreciate by exploring the “About Us” and “Meet Our Team” sections of the site.

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Welcome

Welcome to our website.  It is our mission to help each client define and pursue their own vision of financial success.  We believe that the delivery of favorable results requires thorough understanding, confidentiality, trust, effective communication, consistent and reliable execution, progress measurement, and adaptation to change.

Our team is comprised of 6 deeply and diversely trained, experienced, skilled and credentialed individuals who seek to understand all important aspects of clients’ financial lives, assisting directly within our areas of professional experience, and collaborating with clients’ other trusted advisors in related disciplines where appropriate. 

In order to deliver the services standards our clients deserve, we believe this kind of diverse and coordinated team is required, focused – not only on a portfolio’s performance – but more holistically with respect to each client’s financial success. 

Your financial success in your own terms is our goal.

Who We Serve

Carrano & Associates serves a select group of high-net-worth individuals, families and businesses.  We may be a good fit for you if your needs and interests can be described in the following ways:


Long Term Relationship:  You are seeking a long-term relationship with a group of professionals who you can confidently trust to help you establish important financial priorities and strategies and reliably execute on your behalf.

Value a Holistic Perspective:  You would value having those trusted advisors develop a thorough understanding of your most important financial goals, priorities and circumstances in order to deliver appropriately personalized strategies and advice.

Regular Reviews and Communication:  You value an advisor team that will engage with you on a regular basis – at least annually after you are all set up with us – in order to maintain clear communication and steadily improve understanding, review progress against your goals, and discuss important changes in the investment markets or in your lives and attitudes.

$1 Million or More:  You and your immediate family members have at least $1 million in assets you would invest with us here at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.  We have observed that in relationships of this size and larger we can perform more cost effectively for our clients and appropriately apply more of the services that set us apart from other advisory and brokerage services.

Approach - Why Clients Choose Us

What is on your mind?  Carrano & Associates’ approach focuses first on solving any problems occupying your mind that brought you to speak with us.  Many clients come to us with a particular challenge or concern and it is important to promptly address your immediate agenda.

Consultative Approach:  Early in our relationship we would conduct an in-depth review of your circumstances, priorities and goals in seeking thoroughly understanding.  Employing Merrill’s sophisticated Personal Wealth Analysis (“PWA”) modeling tool, we would work with you and the results of the PWA modeling to develop a personalized plan and clear, concise recommendations, showing you your options and supporting your confident, timely decision making.

Sophisticated Execution:  We use BofA Global Research's industry leading research and advanced technology to drive portfolio design and performance along with efficient, reliable, and cost effective management and reporting.  Our strategies are highly personalized and crafted to reflect your goals and sentiments.

Relationship Emphasis:  Each member of our dedicated team is committed to the highest standards of Accessibility, responsiveness, and follow-through.  Our ongoing regular reviews help clients understand progress toward their goals and help the team better anticipate, prepare, and adjust.  The team strives to preserve a consistent focus on what matters most to you even as your lives, goals and priorities change over time.

What Is in This for You:  Working with Carrano & Associates, Clients appreciate developing a confident clarity around where they stand, where they are going, and what they can expect to achieve.  They take comfort knowing they have an experienced team helping with all important aspects of their financial lives.  And they enjoy the assurance that comes from a long-term relationship with a team that remains focused on them.

*Institutional Investor magazine announced BofA Global Research as one of the Top Global Research Firms in 2023 based on surveys held throughout the year. The magazine creates rankings of the top research analysts in a wide variety of specializations, drawn from the choices of portfolio managers and other investment professionals at more than 1,000 firms. BofA Global Research is research produced by BofA Securities, Inc (“BofAS”) and/or one or more of its affiliates. BofAS is a registered broker-dealer, Member SIPC, and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. Learn more about the methodology at Institutional Investor. Rankings and recognition from Institutional Investor are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsement.

*Any information presented in connection with BofA Global Research is general in nature and is not intended to provide personal investment advice. The information does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any specific person who may receive it. Investors should understand that statements regarding future prospects may not be realized. BofA Global Research is research produced by BofA Securities, Inc. (“BofAS”) and/or one or more of its affiliates. BofAS is a registered broker-dealer, Member SIPC, and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. BofA Global Research does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision.

Capabilities

The Team:  Carrano & Associates, founded and led by Senior Vice President & Wealth Management Advisor, Michael Carrano, is a deeply and diversely experienced, trained and credentialed wealth management team at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in Portland, Oregon. 

When you choose to work with Carrano & Associates, we all work in service to you.  We have organized ourselves along functional lines starting with an exhaustive list of capabilities we believe are essential to great, holistic financial advisory service and then assigning those responsibilities to each of us according to our individual strengths, experience, and formal qualifications. 

You can always reach out to any one of us and we will apply our team’s best resource to your needs.  When you have financial needs beyond the scope of our experience, we can work closely with your other trusted professionals and/or provide you with introductions to professionals who have satisfied our clients in the disciplines you need.

BofA / Merrill:  We are pleased to have access to an extraordinary array of world-class banking services through Bank America and investment services through Merrill.  We seamlessly integrate the firm’s industry-leading global research and advanced technologies into our service to clients and share the firm’s interest in our commitment to provide you with a superb customer experience focused on your results.

Committed to Acting as Trusted Advisors:  We are committed to advise our customers as trusted advisors, placing the clients’ interests ahead of our own or those of the firm in making recommendations and executing client transactions.

*Institutional Investor magazine announced BofA Global Research as one of the Top Global Research Firms in 2023 based on surveys held throughout the year. The magazine creates rankings of the top research analysts in a wide variety of specializations, drawn from the choices of portfolio managers and other investment professionals at more than 1,000 firms. BofA Global Research is research produced by BofA Securities, Inc (“BofAS”) and/or one or more of its affiliates. BofAS is a registered broker-dealer, Member SIPC, and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. Learn more about the methodology at Institutional Investor. Rankings and recognition from Institutional Investor are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsement.

*Any information presented in connection with BofA Global Research is general in nature and is not intended to provide personal investment advice. The information does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any specific person who may receive it. Investors should understand that statements regarding future prospects may not be realized. BofA Global Research is research produced by BofA Securities, Inc. (“BofAS”) and/or one or more of its affiliates. BofAS is a registered broker-dealer, Member SIPC, and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. BofA Global Research does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision.

Meet Our Team

Supported by the global resources of Merrill, our 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.

Paul Stauffer

Wealth Strategies Advisor

Bank of America, N.A.

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 we can help you create a financial approach that reflects your personality. Only then can we 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.


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      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.

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      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.