We helped founder Omani Carson achieve a ~9x increase in enterprise value over five years (2016–2021) by building M&A capabilities, professionalizing operations, and recruiting a strong executive team. Together, we built Carson Group into one of the most recognized names in wealth management and a top national RIA platform.
Today, Carson Group is a comprehensive platform dedicated to helping financial advisors grow their firms by providing tools and services for marketing, compliance, technology, investment strategies, succession planning, M&A, and coaching.
Carson Group Case Study
Carson Group: Building A Market-Defining Platform in the Wealth Management Sector
Long Ridge’s partnership with Carson Group demonstrates how operational excellence and a focus on scale can catalyze transformational growth in founder-led businesses.
Carson Group: Building A Market-Defining Platform in the Wealth Management Sector
The Team
Omani Carson
Omani Carson founded Carson Group in 1983 to support financial advisors and their clients. A Barron's Hall of Fame advisor, frequent CNBC contributor, and bestselling author, Omani has been a prominent figure in the wealth management industry for decades.
Key Results
2016–2021 Partnership
~8x
Enterprise value growth
~6x
AUM growth
~4x
EBITDA growth
31
Acquisitions completed
The Opportunity
We met Carson Group through an introduction by Todd Thomson, former CEO of Citigroup’s Global Wealth Management division and Long Ridge Executive Council member, and Shirl Penney, CEO of Dynasty Financial. Long Ridge Managing Partner Jim Brown previously served on the board of Dynasty with Shirl and Todd.
We led a growth investment in Carson Group in 2016. We believed that:
- Financial advisors exiting large wirehouses needed a complete ecosystem of tools and technology to compete with the established firms they were leaving behind
- The market opportunity to serve independent advisors was in its earliest innings, and Carson offered a nascent, but market-leading platform with numerous growth levers
- Carson was uniquely positioned to pursue an inorganic growth strategy by acquiring minority stakes in client advisory firms, creating a win-win model where advisors gained liquidity while Carson secured recurring revenue streams at attractive valuations
“When I was looking to grow Carson Group, I didn’t need capital. What I wanted was a partner. Long Ridge has been exactly that: a trusted partner and a seamless part of our team. They’ve helped professionalize and institutionalize the business, which has taken us to the next level and maximized our potential as a pioneer in the industry.”
The Outcome
In July 2021, Carson completed a minority recapitalization with Bain Capital. The partnership with Bain Capital provided Carson Group with additional resources to accelerate its next phase of growth while delivering exceptional returns to Long Ridge investors and the Carson Group team. We remained a significant stakeholder in the company following our exit.
The exit marked the culmination of a partnership that elevated Carson Group into one of the top independent advisor platforms in the U.S., serving over 37,000 families nationwide through its partner network.
The case studies represent a subset of Long Ridge’s investments. A complete list of investments made by Long Ridge funds during the relevant periods is available here. Investments are speculative and involve significant risks. Investors risk the loss of their entire investment.