Ron Carson, chief executive officer and founder of Carson Group, announced he is stepping down after more than 40 years at the helm of what is now one of the nation’s largest independent wealth management firms.
Carson founded the company in 1983. He started out selling insurance out of his college dorm before dropping out of the University of Nebraska to focus on building an advisory business full-time. Since then, he has grown the company into one that has $35.5 billion in assets under management and that serves about 50,000 families.
“I am proud of the legacy we’re building, the growth of our advisor community, and the impact we’ve had on thousands of lives,” said Carson in a statement. “As we have advanced our mission, I realize that to continue to be a growth leader in the RIA space, we must adopt a bifocal ability to execute on what’s right in front of us while also innovating and anticipating the needs of our advisors — and clients — years and even decades from now.”
Carson will serve as chairman of the company and maintains majority ownership of the Omaha, Nebraska–based firm.
Burt White, who joined the company in 2022 as chief strategy officer, will immediately take over as CEO. White was previously managing director and chief investment officer at LPL Financial, one of the largest broker-dealers and custodians, with more than 22,000 financial professionals and $1.35 trillion in assets, for 14 years. While at LPL, White focused on helping advisors grow and become more efficient.
“Since joining Carson in 2022, Burt has exceeded my expectations,” said Carson. “Under his leadership, he has transformed our investments platform and led our organization in one of our most successful growth years to date. His strategic vision and innovative drive will be instrumental as we continue to navigate an ever-changing industry. I can’t think of a better person than Burt to carry the torch for our mission, advance our offering, and attract thought leaders to elevate the business.”
As chairman, Carson will focus on “the longer-term future of the company,” while White will focus on “executing the firm’s advisor-centric growth strategy.”
Carson also plans on furthering his family’s humanitarian work around initiatives such as feeding the hungry, providing clean water and supporting mental health.
In 2012, Carson, along with his wife Jeanie, founded the Dreamweaver Foundation, which is dedicated to fulfilling end-of-life dreams for seniors with terminal illnesses.
Carson’s success was slow to come at first. He spent nearly a decade as a solo advisor before hiring his first employee in 1989 and, soon after, joined a new LPL advisor platform to manage client assets.
“I remember having a big party,” Carson told RIA Intel for a profile in 2022. “I had grown to three people on my team, and we hit $25 million in advisory assets, and we thought we’d really arrived.”
In 2011, Carson Group establish its own RIA and, from there, really took off. In the past two years, Carson has managed to grow its assets by more than $15 billion and has added an additional 30 partner firms and 10,000 families to its roster.
“It’s an honor to build on the foundation Ron has laid and to partner across Carson Group’s dynamic and talented leadership team to continue to expand and deepen our value proposition for advisors and investors,” White said in a statement. “It’s exciting work, and I’m incredibly energized by the opportunities ahead.”
