Insights

One Carson partner once wrote seven numbers on a single sheet of paper: organic growth rate, client retention, average client age, revenue mix, EBITDA margins, team depth, and household size. Below each, he listed targets for one year, five years, and ten years. He kept that sheet visible on his desk. Every strategic decision came …

Have you spent years working in a restrictive environment where you felt stymied? You paid your dues—waiting to go independent. You may have felt like you were on an island, trying to do everything alone. The truth is, there are many women financial advisors who can commiserate with you. Carson’s new 2025 State of Women …

By Carson Group, in collaboration with Laura LaTourette, CFP®, Managing Partner, Senior Wealth Advisor, Family Wealth Management Group The LGBTQ+ community in the U.S. represents a significant and growing economic force, with an estimated $1.4 trillion in annual purchasing power – making it one of the most financially influential demographics in the country. Yet despite …

In late 2020, the SEC announced that it had finalized changes to its Marketing Rule for financial advisors. The amendments create a single rule that replaces the pre-existing advertising and cash solicitation rules. The rule’s broadly drawn limitations and principles-based provisions are designed to accommodate the continual change in technology and ever-expanding ways in which …

New rules proposed by the SEC would require greater due diligence for RIAs when working with third-party investment and compliance service providers. The proposed rules are likely to get some pushback from advisors, especially from smaller RIAs who would be most burdened by the additional regulations. The SEC defines two types of service providers covered …

“Spurious: Outwardly similar or corresponding to something without having its genuine qualities.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary This will be a more fun blog, as I’ve always been fascinated by spurious correlations, or things that might go up and down together, but one doesn’t cause the other to move with it. Sometimes the connection is random; sometimes there’s …

The January payroll report was widely anticipated because it was the first “clean” report after the messy post-shutdown reports from November and December, which were also delayed. We also got annual benchmark revisions to prior years’ data (which impacted data from 2021 through March 2025). The Bureau of Labor Statistics also made a methodological change …

Like any good Midwesterner, the weather is top of mind most of the time, especially in the depths of winter. Like the stock market, there is no such thing as experiencing average temperature – just a combination of above-average and below-average. Right now, many of us are experiencing above-average temperatures and likely our first ‘false …

Michael Belluomini and Mike Wieger welcome Jessica Polito, founder of Turkey Hill Management. Jessica has spent more than a decade advising on M&A in the wealth management space and brings a unique perspective shaped by a commitment to providing unbiased guidance to firms navigating one of the most complex decisions they’ll ever face: whether to …

Michael Belluomini and Mike Wieger are joined by John Orsini from MarshBerry. We start by getting to know John a little better; his path into the wealth management space and how MarshBerry has become a key player in the advisory M&A landscape. From there, the conversation shifts to private equity. John recently contributed an article …

Join Carson’s Michael Belluomini, SVP, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Mike Wieger, VP, Mergers & Acquisitions, as they dive into the structure of a typical M&A deal. Topics of Discussion: The differences between upfront, retention, and growth earnouts. The strangest deal terms and new wrinkles they’ve encountered. The present value of a deal and why headline …