Top Wealth · rank 191 · Newton, Massachusetts · listed firm: Merrill Wealth Management
Identity & firm
- Firm — Merrill Lynch Wealth Management (The Cafaro Group) (high)
- “The Cafaro Group Merrill Lynch Wealth Management 2221 Washington Street Newton MA 02462” — firm_official
- “MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Parent company — Bank of America (high)
- “Providing you with access to the investment insights of Merrill and the credit and lending capabilities of Bank of America offers a way for you to manage all of the pieces of your financial life.” — firm_official
- Firm type — wirehouse (high)
- “MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Team name — The Cafaro Group (high)
- “At The Cafaro Group, every member of our team is dedicated to helping you achieve your financial goals.” — firm_official
- Team size — 34 (medium)
- “The Cafaro Group, founded in 2002 in Wellesley, MA has grown into a 34-member team with offices in Wellesley, MA; Beverly, MA; Providence, RI; Red Bank, NJ; and Chicago, IL.” — forbes_shook
- “Meet Our Team Carl Cafaro , CPFA® Managing Director , Wealth Management Advisor” — firm_official
- CRD — 4200040 (high)
- “CARL CAFARO” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Years experience — 25 (high)
- “FIDELITY BROKERAGE SERVICES LLC” — sec_finra_regulatory
- “Cafaro began his career at Fidelity Investments before moving to Merrill Lynch in 2002.” — general_press
- Designations — other:CPFA (high)
- “Carl Cafaro , CPFA® Managing Director , Wealth Management Advisor” — firm_official
Book of business
- Team AUM ($M) — 6900 (high)
- “Team Assets (Custodied): $6.9B” — forbes_shook
- “The Cafaro Group is entrusted with $8.3 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2025.” — forbes_shook
- Account minimum ($M) — 2.5 (high)
- “Minimum account size for new business: $2.5M” — forbes_shook
- Typical client net worth ($M) — 15 (high)
- “Typical Net Worth Of Relationships: $5-25M” — forbes_shook
- Client niche — UHNW multi-generational families, senior executives and business owners (high)
- “Focus Area / Customer Base UHNW multi-generational families and UHNW individuals” — forbes_shook
- “He advises high-net-worth senior executives, business owners and multi-generational families on how to grow and manage their wealth and has won numerous top advisor awards over the years.” — general_press
- Custodians — gap: not_applicable
- Fee model — fee_plus_commission (medium)
- “MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED” — sec_finra_regulatory
Positioning & marketing
- Website url — https://advisor.ml.com/sites/ma/newton-ma/cafarogroup (high)
- “The Cafaro Group - Financial Advisors in Newton, MA 02462 | Merrill” — firm_official
- Value proposition (verbatim) — The Cafaro Group is a dedicated wealth management practice focused on client-centered planning and exceptional service. Our mission is to help clients achieve their financial goals through a personalized, consultative approach. (high)
- “The Cafaro Group is a dedicated wealth management practice focused on client-centered planning and exceptional service. Our mission is to help clients achieve their financial goals through a personalized, consultative ap” — firm_official
- Differentiators — Service model built around the client's active schedule — efficiency and flexibility, Personalized, consultative discovery before any strategy is built, No single approach fits everyone — strategy keyed to priorities, risk tolerance, time horizon and liquidity needs, Access to Merrill investment insights plus Bank of America credit and lending, Multigenerational wealth-transfer strategies beyond investments (high)
- “At The Cafaro Group, delivering outstanding client service is at the heart of everything we do. Our service model is designed around your active schedule, ensuring efficiency, flexibility, and an exceptional experience e” — firm_official
- “No two people are alike. Consequently, there is no single approach to wealth management that is appropriate for everyone. What matters most to you is what matters most to us.” — firm_official
- Content marketing — occasional (medium)
- “Insights Beyond the page: How a successful writer pursues financial security Four for the Quarter: Top questions investors are asking right now Stay ahead of student scams Inside the American wallet Emerging Trends in Cy” — firm_official
- Has podcast — no (medium)
- “Insights Beyond the page: How a successful writer pursues financial security Four for the Quarter: Top questions investors are asking right now” — firm_official
- Books published — 0 (medium)
- “He is a 1998 graduate of Assumption University and has a master's degree in higher education administration from Boston College.” — general_press
- Linkedin url — https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-cafaro-11ba4414 (medium)
- “Carl Cafaro - Managing Director, Wealth ...” — social_or_third_party_db
- Social presence — gap: not_found_after_search
- Press awards — Barron's "Top 250 Private Wealth Management Teams", 2022-2026 (team), Barron's "Top 1,200 Financial Advisors", 2020-2024, Forbes "America's Top Wealth Management Teams High Net Worth", 2022-2025 (team), Forbes "Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams", 2023-2026 (team), Forbes "Best-in-State Wealth Advisors", 2021-2023 (high)
- “Barron's "Top 1,200 Financial Advisors", 2020-2024 (Published annually February – March. Rankings based on data as of September 30 of prior year.)” — firm_official
- “Barron’s “Top 250 Private Wealth Management Teams”, 2022-2026 (Published annually in May. Years pre-dating 2024, published as Barron's "Top 100 Private Wealth Management Teams" list annually March - April. Rankings based” — firm_official
Visual brand
- Has distinct logo — no (high)
- “The Cafaro Group Merrill Lynch Wealth Management 2221 Washington Street Newton MA 02462” — firm_official
- Logo url — gap: not_found_after_search
- Visual brand notes — Merrill corporate template — no team mark. Bull logo, navy/black on white, clean sans type, full-width stock lifestyle photography and uniform square headshots. Team identity carried by wordmark and awards, not visual design. (high)
- “The Cafaro Group Welcome Recognition About Us Meet Our Team Insights About Merrill On this page navigate to...” — firm_official