Carson taps Osaic recruiting veteran as independent channel expansion continues

Carson Group has hired Kevin Peterson, a nearly three-decade veteran of advisor recruiting, as senior vice president of business development for the Omaha-based firm's independent channel.

The move comes as Carson accelerates its push to attract independent advisors, while its recruiting-industry peers navigate a stretch of leadership turnover at competing networks.

Peterson will lead business development for growth-minded independent advisors weighing a move to Carson, working alongside Scott Conroy, president of the firm's independent channel.

Carson manages more than $62 billion in assets and works with over 60,000 client families across more than 165 partner offices, according to the company.

A recruiter's résumé built at scale

Peterson spent the bulk of his career on the front lines of advisor recruiting. He most recently served as senior vice president of sales at Osaic, where he ran the firm's recruiting organization, and before that helped stand up Goldman Sachs Advisor Solutions. He also spent more than 16 years at TD Ameritrade Institutional, where he worked on transitioning advisory firms onto that platform.

"Kevin has built his career around understanding what advisors want to accomplish and helping them position their businesses for long-term success," Conroy said in a written statement on Monday. "He blends deep industry experience with a thoughtful, consultative approach and a genuine passion for helping advisors win."

Peterson framed the move as a bet on where the wealth management industry is heading. "Independent advisors are increasingly looking for a partner that combines a strong RIA platform with broker-dealer capabilities, and Carson is well positioned to fill that need," he said, highlighting the firm's investments in technology and AI embedded into the platform.

Read more: The independent advisor advantage: Where autonomy meets infrastructure

A churning market for recruiting talent

As the competition for advisors and their books of business heats up among private equity-backed consolidators – Bain Capital took a stake in Carson in 2021, and it officially became part of Osaic's capital stack in April with a $2 billion recapitalization from Reverence Capital Partners – there's also been pressure at such firms to retain talent while beefing up their recruiting engines with seasoned business development managers.

Osaic, the giant broker-dealer and RIA network that works with more than 11,000 advisors, has seen several senior leaders exit in recent months. Dimple Shah, executive vice president of strategy and client experience, left in the spring to later join Humanity Labs, while Kristen Kimmell, executive vice president of business development, departed in June after nearly five years. Kristy Britt, Osaic's chief financial officer, along with Greg Cornick, executive vice president of wealth management solutions, left later that month.

Read more: With executives leaving, Osaic’s Reid now in the spotlight

Earlier this summer, Carson established dedicated teams to serve its independent and integrated advisor channels separately, a structural change meant to let each business focus on the specific needs of the advisors it serves while preserving what Carson calls flexible affiliation models throughout an advisor's career.

The desire for advisor talent was also evident at Kestra, which over the past few months has added recruiters from Commonwealth, LPL and Raymond James to its own bench in quick succession.