CHICAGO, May 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Carson Group, one of the fastest growing financial services firms in the country, today announced several added services and product offerings to further support the growth of its 108 partner firm locations. The announcement was made on the opening day of Excell 2019, Carson’s annual industry-wide conference, which this year boasts an all-time record attendance of 1,200 advisors, team members, investors, and industry executives.
Enhancements to the Advisor Ecosystem
Plans for discounted services and direct cost savings to partners were among the key messages shared during Carson’s Partner Summit. The team unveiled zero cost on Orion fees within advisory accounts, which averaged a savings of over $22,000 per advisor firm. The leadership team also reinforced a larger goal of reducing the overall cost of Carson’s tech stack to zero by 2020.
In addition to outlining substantial cost savings to Orion and other services, the organization introduced added advisor services and support to its ecosystem, including the further development of its brokerage solution, M&A/succession consulting, cash management options, and plans for a 401(k) platform that will enable advisors to serve qualified retirement plans as part of their advisory business model. This retirement platform, called the Carson Retirement Platform, is exclusively for fee-based advisors and will include back office support and plan service provider solutions to fully prepare advisors who market to the retirement planning industry. With regards to its M&A offering, Carson’s team has helped 16 firms evaluate opportunities, navigate purchase deals, and line up advisor recruitments – and that is anticipated to grow significantly as industry consolidation intensifies and advisors look for inorganic opportunities. The firm also shared its continued efforts on next-gen recruiting and training to further equip advisors with a solid foundation for future growth and stability. The added services all come in response to Carson’s fast-growing community of advisors, which earlier this year surpassed 100 office locations around the U.S.
As the organization explores additional advisor services, Carson’s team spoke to its emerging partnership with Galileo, a technology company that powers disruptive innovation for leading fintech providers, financial institutions, and investment firms. Under this planned partnership, Carson would leverage Galileo Money+, a new product currently in beta that will empower advisors to capture a greater share of wallet, primarily with bank assets, by offering high-interest, low-fee alternatives to traditional bank accounts.
“Every decision we make – and every partner we consider – must always bring us a step closer to doing what’s right for our clients,” said Ron Carson, CEO and founder of Carson Group. “By extending our menu of services in all these areas, we’ll offer our advisors – and their clients – more options and flexibility, which will allow them to compete with virtually anyone. It’s all about creating unmistakable value for our advisors, more benefits for their clients, and furthering our mission to make the complex simple for the more than 26,000 families we serve.”
These services come in addition to the firm’s launch of its new client-facing technology, Carson CX, which is now available to its partner firms. Since January, the firm has signed $941 million in assets under management. Most recently, it closed ownership on Spectrum Management Group, a $575M RIA headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Among all current partner firms, the organization currently oversees a total of $9.6 billion in assets under management.