As Chief Investment Officer of Kestra Investment Management, Kara brings her extensive expertise to partner with the independent financial professionals associated with the Kestra Holdings ecosystem. Kara and her team provide hands-on support, that includes market commentary and research, guidance on portfolio construction, and a broad array of investment solutions designed to empower financial professionals to serve their clients’ wealth management needs.

Kara was most recently Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, responsible for overseeing client investments. While there, she served on Goldman Sachs’ Women’s Council, Inclusion and Diversity Committee, and the Sustainability Committee. Kara joined Goldman Sachs as a Managing Director in 2019 as part of Goldman Sachs’ acquisition of United Capital. As part of that acquisition, Kara led investment-related integration efforts between the two firms.

Prior to joining United Capital, Kara was Chief Investment Officer at AIG Funds, where during her tenure as CIO, assets grew from $23 billion to $50 billion. Earlier in her career, she worked at Chilton Investment Company, a hedge fund, as an equity analyst, and before that, Kara worked at Morgan Stanley Investment Management as an analyst researching equities, macroeconomics, and investment strategy. Before joining the investment industry, she was an analyst covering international political and economic risk at Marvin Zonis + Associates, with a focus on Eastern Europe and Russia.

Kara is a member of the CFA Society of New York and the CFA Society of Dallas-Fort Worth. She serves on the board of directors for Welcome Home, a nonprofit, which she founded to provide support for newly resettled refugees. Kara earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and earned a master’s degree from the University of Chicago.