Valbona brings extensive experience in wealth management and personalized financial planning. She focuses on serving the unique financial needs of women, professional athletes, entertainers, and non-profit organizations, offering tailored strategies that promote financial growth, security, and long-term success.
As a trusted financial advisor for women, Valbona is passionate about empowering her female clients through financial education and strategic guidance. She understands the unique opportunities women face in wealth accumulation, retirement planning, and financial independence, and develops customized plans aligned with each client’s personal and professional goals.
For clients in the sports and entertainment industries, Val offers financial management designed to address short career spans, high-income volatility, and complex contract structures. Her services include wealth preservation, career transition planning, contract analysis, tax optimization, and philanthropic planning, ensuring that clients build and maintain lasting financial health.
Valbona is also a valuable resource for non-profit financial consulting, guiding organizations through fiduciary responsibilities, governance, fundraising strategies, and endowment management. Renowned for her approachable, professional style, Valbona excels in demystifying complex financial concepts and delivering clear, actionable advice. Clients value her personalized service, transparent communication, and unwavering dedication to their financial well-being.
Beyond her advisory work, Valbona is a committed advocate for financial literacy and women’s empowerment. She actively gives back to her community by mentoring emerging professionals and supporting initiatives focused on education and equality in finance.
Valbona holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, CFP® certification, the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™, CRPC™ designation, and most recently achieved the Sports & Entertainment Accredited Wealth Management Advisor™, SE-AWMA™ certification. She proudly graduated from St. John’s University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and remains actively involved with its Staten Island campus. Valbona serves as the recruitment chair for the Merrill Women’s Exchange and supports various charitable organizations. Originally from Staten Island, Valbona now resides in New Jersey with her husband, Mirsad, and their three daughters.
Placing the investor at the center of the planning process—while maintaining a market focus — is my goal in helping you work through difficult financial transitions and decisions that can occur in your life. The process begins by getting to know you, your family and financial situation, understanding your risk tolerance, time horizon, liquidity needs, goals, priorities and unique financial concerns. From there, a personalized financial strategy is designed, drawing upon the investment insights of Merrill and accessing the credit, lending and banking solutions available from Bank of America. As your needs or market conditions change, I will meet with you to track and adjust your approach, as necessary.
Bringing fresh perspectives to your financial life
The financial decisions you make today can help determine the future you build for yourself and your family. Carving a clear path forward starts with connecting your life and finances. A Merrill advisor provides access to the investing insights of Merrill and banking capabilities of Bank of America to help you make informed decisions as you pursue your goals.
