Sowell Management, an Arkansas-based registered investment advisor, has introduced a dedicated Advanced Planning Group to help its affiliated advisors address the increasingly complex financial needs of high-net-worth individuals, wealthy families, and small business owners.
The new unit, announced August 31, brings together specialists in estate planning, tax strategy, business succession, asset protection, wealth transfer, and multigenerational legacy planning under one roof.
It will serve advisors across both the Sowell Management platform and Cache River Private Wealth, a wholly owned division launched in April 2026 to focus exclusively on households with $5 million or more in net worth.
Bill Sowell, founder and chief strategy officer of Sowell Management, based in North Little Rock, Arkansas, said the group's creation reflects the firm's strategy of equipping advisors with tools that go beyond conventional portfolio management.
"As clients accumulate wealth, their financial lives become increasingly complex, with needs that extend beyond traditional investment management," he said. "The launch of our Advanced Planning Group reinforces Sowell's ongoing focus on partnership, organic growth and delivering truly differentiating resources that help advisors navigate complexity with confidence."
The push is part of a broader competitive dynamic reshaping the RIA industry. As best RIAs for high-net-worth clients compete to deliver family-office-level services, mid-sized firms are building in-house planning depth rather than outsourcing or referring out.
Sowell's move follows a similar pattern seen at HB Wealth (formerly Homrich Berg), which brought on a tax planning specialist to strengthen its ultra-high-net-worth offering.
Carrie Quraishi, JD, director of advanced planning at Sowell Management, will co-lead the group alongside JR Quraishi, director of tax planning. Quraishi said wealthy clients increasingly expect the level of service historically reserved for family offices.
"The addition of APG allows Sowell to offer the services these clients deserve, while expanding our ability to support them through significant life and wealth events, including business sales, liquidity events, succession planning, and multi-generational wealth transfer," she said.
A central function of the group will be proactive tax planning, with JR Quraishi heading what the firm describes as a tax overlay discipline, integrating tax efficiency considerations into all planning services rather than treating them as a separate line item.
The Advanced Planning Group is also intended to be a centerpiece of Cache River Private Wealth, which Sowell describes as purpose-built for discerning advisors and high-net-worth families.
That unit targets households with investment assets well into the seven-figure range and pitches itself on the convergence of planning, investment management, and specialist expertise.
Sowell has been on an active expansion track in 2026. Earlier this year the firm partnered with Rayliant Global Advisors and named Jason Hsu as chief investment strategist, a move designed to sharpen its investment differentiation. The Advanced Planning Group extends that approach into the planning and client-service side of the business.
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