OMAHA, Neb., July 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Carson Group, a family of companies committed to being the most trusted for financial advice and guidance via service to both advisors and investors, today announced that, in Q2, it had added $613 million in committed assets. This now brings the firm’s assets under management (AUM) to $6.1 billion.
Between April and June, nine new partner firms joined Carson Group. Of the 27 firms that have signed since January, 18 originated from independent broker-dealers, seven from RIAs, and two from wirehouses. Carson Group now partners with 83 firms in 102 locations across 36 states, further solidifying its place as one of the top destinations for advisors seeking robust growth options. Over the next six months, the firm anticipates $3.6 billion in contracted assets transitioning to the platform, pushing total assets under management to just over $9 billion by year-end.
Among the newest additions to the Carson family is Florida-based Ruggie Wealth, consistently ranked by Barron’s and the Financial Times among the top RIAs in the country. Ruggie Wealth has approximately $577M in assets under management and is led by founder, president and author Thomas Ruggie, ChFC®, CFP®, who harbors almost three decades of industry experience.
“We are excited to be joining a group of growth-minded professionals and innovators who have a deep understanding of the industry, a vast network of specialized services, proven investment strategies and an abiding passion for serving clients,” said Mr. Ruggie. “We are committed to helping our clients pursue their long-term goals and, through this partnership, we’ll gain enhanced operational functions and access to leading-edge technology that enables us to spend more time on what matters most: our clients.”
Q2 2018 also saw Carson Group enjoy record attendance of nearly 1,000 at Excell, its annual flagship conference, and the addition of 45 new advisor firms to its coaching and content platform. The firm is adding three positions within its coaching and consulting teams to support the growing community, which now includes 1,264 member firms across the U.S. and Canada.
“Our growth trajectory is exploding,” said Ron Carson, CEO and founder of Carson Group. “We’re seeing increasingly larger firms open to this new level of partnership in adopting the Carson Wealth brand because they recognize the clear value they receive. There’s no shortage of advisors seeking better options; that reaffirms the decisions we’re making and the direction we’re pursuing for the second half of 2018.”
“We’ve reached a critical milestone this year, and advisors across the country are taking note,” added Aaron Schaben, executive vice president of Carson Group. “We are setting the pace when it comes to both growth and innovation. As we take stock in the talent and partnerships we’ve assembled, our focus remains on bottoms-up innovation and understanding we must continually evolve for the benefit of our advisors and their clients.”
The firm also expanded its spectrum of available investment strategies with the acquisition of QBI, a low-volatility, GIPS-compliant strategy with a six-year track record. Former QBI stakeholders, Rick Jaster, CFA, and Nick Joyner, will assume the roles of Director of Systematic Equities and Senior Investment Analyst respectively. This rules-based, low-volatility suite containing a total of 17 track records brings a popular smart-beta strategy to the platform, offers advisors more flexibility and, most importantly, will be included at no additional cost to partner firms. The addition introduces a factor-based model that builds on purely passive ETF strategies and complements existing ETF and active stock positions. Going forward, Carson Group believes the systematic approach can be applied to a wide number of investment universes, including domestic, global, international and small/large cap options.