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Founder / Operator·RIA Rollups

Ron Carson

Founder and Chairman at Carson Group

Omaha, Nebraska

RC
LinkedIn
Why they matter

Built a $1B+ RIA aggregation platform from scratch and just handed CEO reins to a growth operator — a live case study for anyone underwriting RIA roll-ups or founder-to-professional-management transitions.

Background

Ron Carson (now legally Omani Carson) founded Carson Group in 1983 out of his college dorm room at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, building it into one of the largest RIA networks in the U.S. with roughly $38-40B in assets under advisement across Carson Wealth, Carson Partners, and Carson Coaching. He stepped down as CEO in April 2024 to become Chairman, retaining majority ownership, while Bain Capital holds a minority stake acquired in 2021.

Notable deals

  • 2021
    Carson Group sold a strategic minority stake to Bain Capital, valuing the firm at over $1 billion
  • 2024
    Stepped down as CEO to become Chairman, appointing Burt White (ex-LPL Financial) as CEO to lead day-to-day growth strategy
  • 2024
    Carson Group acquired Sweet Financial Partners, a $1B AUA Minnesota RIA, under Carson's continued majority ownership
  • 2025
    Carson Group closed its largest RIA acquisition to date, Total Wealth Planning ($1.45B AUM, Cincinnati OH)

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Founded Carson Group in 1983 from a college dorm room; grew it into a top-12 fastest-growing RIA network (~$38-40B AUA, 50,000+ families, 150+ partner offices) via Carson Wealth, Carson Partners, and Carson Coaching.
  • Sold a minority stake to Bain Capital in 2021 (>$1B valuation); Bain remains a strategic investor.
  • Stepped down as CEO in April 2024, staying on as Chairman and majority owner; Burt White (ex-LPL Financial CIO) now runs day-to-day operations and the acquisition pipeline.

Current Focus

  • Long-term strategy, humanitarian/philanthropic work (co-founded the Dreamweaver Foundation with his wife), and continuing to be the public face/brand ambassador for Carson Group.
  • Legally changed his name from Ron to Omani in 2025, tied to a personal transformation journey (psychedelics, indigenous naming ceremony) that has become part of his public narrative.

What They Care About

  • RIA succession and "super-firm" consolidation strategy — helping independent advisors scale without selling out to wirehouses.
  • Advisor coaching/practice-management (Carson Coaching arm).
  • Personal growth, purpose-driven leadership, and legacy — increasingly vocal about this since his name change.

Sensitivities

  • A former CMO filed a workplace-conduct lawsuit against Carson Group around the April 2024 leadership transition — worth knowing before referencing that period.
  • His name change and psychedelics disclosure have drawn media attention (Forbes, trade press); approach with respect, not novelty framing.
  • As Chairman rather than CEO, he may defer operational/deal questions to Burt White — frame outreach around strategy, culture, and vision, not day-to-day M&A execution.

Questions to Ask

  1. How is the Bain Capital partnership shaping Carson's appetite for further outside capital or a potential majority sale?
  2. What criteria does Carson Partners use to source and price RIA acquisitions like Sweet Financial and Total Wealth Planning?
  3. How has the CEO handoff to Burt White changed his own role in capital allocation and M&A decision-making?

Outreach draft

Subject
Question on Carson Group's RIA consolidation playbook
Hi Omani, I've followed Carson Group's growth from your dorm-room start to a $38B+ platform, and the recent handoff to Burt White as CEO is a rare, well-documented case of a founder professionalizing leadership while staying majority owner. I'm on a deal team studying RIA aggregation models, and your experience — sourcing acquisitions, structuring the Bain Capital partnership, and building Carson Partners into a scalable platform — would be enormously valuable to hear directly. Would you have 20-30 minutes in the coming weeks for a call? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Your Name]

Linked companies

Sources