Karen Finerman

Karen Finerman (born February 25, 1965) is an American businesswoman, hedge fund manager, author, and television personality who co-founded the New York-based hedge fund Metropolitan Capital Advisors in 1992 and has served as its president and CEO since inception. A graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, Finerman began her Wall Street career in 1987 as a risk arbitrage trader at firms including First City Capital and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where she rose to lead research analyst in the risk arbitrage department before launching her own firm with longtime mentor Jeffrey Schwarz. She gained prominence as a regular panelist on CNBC's Fast Money since its debut in 2007, providing market analysis and trading insights, and later expanded her media presence as co-host of the InvestingFixx podcast and host of the How She Does It podcast focused on women in business. Finerman authored the 2013 book Finerman's Rules: Secrets I'd Only Tell My Daughters About Business and Life, a bestseller offering advice on career, finance, and balancing motherhood with professional success.

In her personal life, Finerman is married to financier Lawrence Golub, a private equity executive, and they have four children—two sets of fraternal twins born via IVF. She has been actively involved in philanthropy, serving on the Board of Directors of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research since 2005 and formerly serving as a trustee of Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, where she contributed to the investment committee. Recognized for her leadership in finance, Finerman has been named one of the most powerful women in the industry and featured in lists such as Forbes' 50 Over 50 in Investment in 2025, highlighting her enduring impact as a trailblazing female executive in a male-dominated field.

Karen Finerman was born on February 25, 1965, in Beverly Hills, California, to a Jewish family. She is the daughter of Jane Finerman, an elementary school teacher specializing in bilingual education, and Dr. Gerald Finerman, a pioneering orthopaedic surgeon and longtime head team physician for UCLA Athletics. The family resided in Beverly Hills, where Jane and Gerald raised their six children in a nurturing environment that emphasized education, the arts, and self-reliance.