Office address: 14600 Branch Street, Omaha, NE 68154
Website: carsongroup.com
Year established: 1983
Company type: financial services
Employees: 370+
Expertise: wealth management, investment advisory, financial planning, advisor coaching, succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, compliance support, marketing support, technology solutions, high-net-worth client services
Parent company: Carson Group Holdings, LLC
Key people: Burt White (CEO), Omani Carson (chair), Daniel Applegarth (CFO), Dani Fava (chief strategy officer), Dan Tobin (COO), Kelsey Ruwe (chief talent officer), Julie Pine (chief legal officer)
Financing status: private equity-backed
Carson Group is an Omaha-based registered investment advisor (RIA) that serves financial advisors and investors across the US. The company's mission is to be the most trusted in financial advice through a client-first, planning-first approach. As of early 2026, it serves more than 54,000 client households through a network of over 150 partner firms and 650+ advisors nationwide.
Carson Wealth, the founding entity of what is now Carson Group, was launched in 1983 from a dorm room at the University of Nebraska's Abel Hall. Founder Omani Carson began with no capital and a negative net worth of $2,600.
His farm family's financial hardship shaped his drive to help others avoid the same path. A football injury in his first year also freed up time to focus entirely on building the practice.
By the early 1990s, Carson recognized that financial advisors faced their own operational challenges. He launched Carson Coaching in 1993 to help advisors overcome business obstacles and scale their practices.
Then in 2012, Carson Partners arrived to fill another gap by offering independent firms technology, compliance tools, and investment research they couldn't build alone.
The company's growth caught the attention of major investors. Bain Capital, a leading private equity firm, took a minority stake in Carson Group in 2021.
That capital unlocked an aggressive acquisition strategy. In 2024, Omani Carson stepped away from the CEO role, handing leadership to Burt White, who accelerated the firm's purchase of other practices at scale.
By 2025, the company was moving fast by completing 21 acquisitions that year and crossing $50 billion in AUM. Key deals included Colorado's Aveo Capital and Ohio's Total Wealth Planning, both bringing substantial advisor networks into the fold.
In early 2026, Carson Group acquired Brent Pine's Scottsdale practice, which manages $430 million in assets. Pine had originally connected to Carson through its coaching program in 2021 and operated as a minority equity partner before the full acquisition. This showed how Carson now views advisor succession as its most powerful growth lever.
Carson Group provides an integrated platform where financial advisors and investors access advisory services, coaching, and operational tools in one ecosystem:
Carson Group emphasizes client-first planning and advisor freedom through its unified three-part model. The firm also builds community through events, peer networks, and ongoing development to support sustained business growth.
Carson Group seeks to be the most trusted financial services provider. The company also says this mission rests on core values:
The company also created the IDEA Council (Inclusion, Diversity, Education, Action) to drive inclusive workplace initiatives. In support of this, Carson Group provides its employees with several benefits, which include:
Reinforcing its commitment to advisor growth, Carson Group launched a NextGen Advisor Council in January 2026 with a standardized career development framework. The council gives emerging advisors input into firm strategy and development pathways while the framework clarifies expectations and compensation progression.
Burt White became CEO of Carson Group in 2024 after serving as managing partner and chief strategy officer. He spent 14 years at LPL Financial as managing director and CIO before joining the company. White holds a bachelor's degree in finance from William & Mary.
Beyond White's leadership, Carson Group's executive team brings decades of combined experience:
This leadership team oversees Carson Group's three-part platform and drives initiatives around advisor growth, technology investment, and client-first planning.
In late 2025, the company discharged an Indiana advisor for ignoring compliance audit issues. The advisor failed to respond to 12 identified deficiencies within 30 days, even after Carson Group sent repeated reminders. This enforcement shows how the firm takes regulatory oversight seriously to protect its clients and $55 billion network.
Neal McGrath, managing partner at Carson Wealth Pittsburgh, earned recognition as one of InvestmentNews' Top Financial Professionals for 2026. The award signals that Carson Group continues to develop top-tier advisors and attract new talent.
A new proposal could end the ban on promoting client reviews in states like California and Connecticut, giving state-registered advisors a level playing field with their SEC-registered peers.
Commerce Street Holdings has also hired a retirement industry veteran in the DFW region to bolster growth in its retirement division.
The private equity era in RIA M&A isn't over but now faces entry from sovereign wealth funds and BlackRock-owned private credit firms. "They play a little bit different role than the traditional private equity investment," Mercer's CEO Dave Welling told InvestmentNews in reference to long-term capital from Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC.
The latest firm to adopt the Carson Wealth brand in Colorado marks the RIA's 15th deal in 2025 while adding $608 million in assets.
The Texas-based former advisor reportedly bilked clients out of millions of dollars, keeping them in the dark with doctored statements and a fake email domain.
Meanwhile, Carson Group extends its acquisition strategy with a Maryland-based advisory practice.
Carson's latest addition in Salt Lake City continues its strategy of buying out successful and growing Carson Wealth locations.
While the choice for advisors to "die at their desks" might been wise once upon a time, higher acquisition multiples and innovations in deal structures have created more immediate M&A opportunities.
"I'm just a big believer that based on demographics alone, we are looking at a 10-to-15 year bull market in M&A in the RIA and independent wealth space," said Michael Belluomini, SVP of M&A at Carson Group.
The new learning framework, focused on behavioral and interpersonal skills, is designed to set financial planners up for lifelong professional development.
Carson Wealth is strengthening its Colorado presence, while Bluespring's move in Texas will create a new $1.4 billion firm.
The wealth tech giant is offering advisors a natural, intuitive way to use AI through its new business intelligence and insights engine features.
Carson has fully acquired another firm in Florida, while Simon Quick Advisors finds its third perfect-fit partner in a Las Vegas-based boutique.
Meanwhile, AdvisorEngine has announced new partnerships for AI notetaking, client data access, and streamlined workflows.
Debbie Taylor chose an outright sale to the Bain Capital-backed mega RIA Carson Group rather than saddling her daughter with a multi-million-dollar loan to take over Taylor Financial.
