In this episode of our Shares podcast, hosts Lindsey Lewis, MBA, CFP®, ChFC® and Alanah Phillips, MBA speak with Cary Carbonaro, MBA, CFP®, an award-winning thought leader and advocate for women, for a discussion on how far the industry still has to go to make women feel welcome and the secrets to success and satisfaction in a largely male-oriented profession.

Cary Carbonaro, MBA, CFP® is senior vice president and director of women and wealth with ACM Wealth. An award-winning financial professional with over 25 years of experience, she is a tireless advocate for women in the financial industry and is passionate about increasing financial literacy and empowering women to overcome any financial challenge they face. She is the author of the bestselling wealth management book for women, The Money Queen’s Guide: For Women Who Want to Build Wealth and Banish Fear, and a CFP Board ambassador appointed to represent the industry in the media. In 2016, she earned the prestigious InvestmentNews Women to Watch award and has been honored six times as a top financial advisor on the Investopedia 100 list, most recently in 2023. She was also named a ThinkAdvisor LUMINARIES Class of 2023 finalist in the Thought Leadership category, recognized for driving the wealth management, investment, and retirement industry forward. She is the founder of FemmeForce, a nonprofit which serves as a mentorship collective dedicated to elevating women in the financial services world.

Any views or opinions expressed in this podcast are the hosts’ and guests' own and do not necessarily represent those of The American College of Financial Services.
 

The Center for Military and Veterans Affairs has named the recipient of the 2024 Soldier-Citizen Award, Major General Suzanne Vautrinot, USAF (Ret.). This marks the first time in the award’s 10-year history that a woman has been named as the winner. Major General Vautrinot will receive the award at the Military Summit on September 11.

Military Background

Over her 31 years of service, Major General Vautrinot was critical to the development of cyberspace as an operational domain within the military. She was instrumental in the establishment and early operation of U.S. Cyber Command with responsibility for offensive and defensive cyber activities for the Department of Defense.

Major General Vautrinot also served in numerous staff positions throughout her service, taking up the roles of joint planner and warfighting capabilities analyst on the Joint Staff, Deputy Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Deputy Director, Air and Space Operations, and Strategic Security at Headquarters Air Force. Major General Vautrinot also served as Special Assistant to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

Civilian Leadership

Major General Vautrinot leads in other aspects of her life as well, serving as the president of Kilovolt Consulting Inc. and a member of the board of directors for Wells Fargo, ECOLAB, CSX, Parsons, Battelle Memorial Institute, and City of Hope. In these roles, she leverages her expertise to advise on cybersecurity matters.

Recognized by all those who know her as an excellent motivator and leader, Major General Vautrinot embodies what it means to be a Soldier-Citizen. Acting as a leader throughout her history with the military and in her civilian activities, Major General Vautrinot has demonstrated strength and skill on her way to numerous honors extolling her capabilities, including National Defense citations, the Symantec Cyber Award, the Women in Aerospace Leadership Award, the Air Force Association Aerospace Citation of Honor, “Women Worth Watching” from Profiles in Diversity Journal, the Presidential Award for Training, Cyberscoop’s Top “Women in Cybersecurity”, and “50 Politicos to Watch.”   She was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2017.

Major General Vautrinot will be honored as the Soldier-Citizen Award recipient at the Center for Military and Veterans Affairs’ annual Military Summit on September 11 at the W Hotel and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

WealthManagement.com | The AI Assembly at Wealth Management EDGE: The Future of AI
May 13, 2024

The College’s artificial intelligence (AI) experts Chet Bennetts, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®, CLF® and Eric Ludwig, PhD, CFP® examine the future of AI in the financial services industry, as well as their own findings on the benefits and limitations of this technology for financial professionals and the public.

ThinkAdvisor | American College Partners With AI Firm on “Matchmaking” Solution
May 16, 2024

Chief marketing and strategy officer Jared Trexler explains The College’s partnership with Copulr.AI and how this new offering will enable those trained by The College to build their businesses by finding their ideal clients to work with.

The panelists discussed the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the insurance industry. Panelists highlighted the industry's demand for AI guidance and frameworks, leading to regulatory action through new rules and guidance on how AI can be safely integrated into insurance processes.

In recent months, state insurance regulators have responded to the widespread adoption of AI in multiple ways. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) finalized its model bulletin on the use of AI systems by insurers, which establishes a blueprint that state regulators can use to address the topic in their jurisdictions. In addition, on January 17, 2024, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued a proposed insurance circular letter emphasizing the use of artificial intelligence systems (AIS) and external consumer data and information sources (ECDIS) in insurance underwriting and pricing. This proposal aims to enforce compliance with existing laws and regulations while promoting transparency, fairness, and governance to address potential discrimination and bias risks.  The Colorado Division of Insurance has also addressed the risks of ECDIS in life insurance underwriting, and proposed new rules to test algorithms for outcomes that may be unfairly discriminatory.  

Summit participants discussed challenges such as underrepresented markets in the insurance space and the need for compliance tools to evolve for novel risks, with an emphasis on balancing innovation while safeguarding consumer interests and ethical considerations. The evolving regulatory framework aims to incorporate risk management and transparency principles consistent with the new technology used, with stakeholder engagement seen as crucial in supporting informed and effective regulation.

The panelists highlighted approaches for navigating the risks posed by algorithms developed by unregulated third-party vendors with respect to ethical considerations, acknowledging challenges associated with proxy factors that may lead to unfair outcomes. Regulatory efforts to establish approaches to auditing models could improve risk management processes. Ongoing efforts were discussed to refine regulatory frameworks addressing ethical issues, with an emphasis on risk management, transparency, and new methodologies for outcome testing.

Audience questions reflected industry concerns about regulatory readiness and governance in AI implementation. Proactive engagement from industry stakeholders was encouraged. The dialogue underscored the complexity of integrating AI into decision-making processes and emphasized the ongoing need for human oversight to ensure good outcomes, consistent with law. Overall, the discussion highlighted collaborative efforts between regulators and industry stakeholders in navigating the evolving landscape of AI regulation in financial services.

To learn more about AI in financial services, you can explore further with research from the Center for Ethics in Financial Services.