Designations and Licenses

Valbona is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. 

Experience and Education

Valbona provides individuals and families with comprehensive wealth management, including integrated financial planning and investment strategies to help grow and protect their wealth. She works closely with clients to understand their lifestyle, career, philanthropic and wealth planning goals and then creates evolving financial plans and strategies to help meet their goals. She has more than 16 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Prior to joining Mariner, Valbona was a wealth analyst for BMO Private Bank. She worked with a team to provide and deliver planning-based solutions in private banking, credit, portfolio management and estate planning for business owners, executives and their families.

Valbona has a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance from DePaul University in Chicago. She also has an MBA with distinction in finance, strategy, execution and valuation from Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University.

Accolades

Valbona was named to Forbes’ Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State list, ranking #13 in 2025 and #30 in Illinois in 2024. She ranked #106 in 2024 on Forbes’ Best-In-State Wealth Advisors list in Illinois.

Personal Interests

Valbona lives in Mount Prospect, where she is an active member of the community. She also serves as the president of the SEVAA Board at DePaul University.

Valbona’s Office

Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State are selected for the Forbes rankings by SHOOK Research. Rankings for 2024 and 2025 were published in February based on prior year data as of September 30. The ranking is based on an algorithm of qualitative data learned through surveys and interviews conducted in-person, by telephone, and virtually to evaluate best practices, level of service, investing models, and compliance records, as well as quantitative data, such as revenue trends and assets under management.

Best-In-State: Advisors are selected for the Forbes rankings by SHOOK Research. Rankings for 2024 were published in April 2024 and were based on June 30^th data, including 1- and 5-year periods. The ranking is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data, rating thousands of wealth advisors with a minimum of seven years of experience and weighing factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience, and best practices learned through telephone and in-person interviews.

Portfolio performance is not a criterion due to varying client objectives and a lack of audited data. The rankings are not indicative of future performance, and there is no guarantee of future success. For additional information, visit www.forbes.com.