{"id":539923,"date":"2026-07-13T22:17:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T22:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/539923\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T22:17:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T22:17:13","slug":"carson-revamps-with-dedicated-w-2-and-independent-ria-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/539923\/","title":{"rendered":"Carson Revamps with Dedicated W-2 and Independent RIA Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carson Group, the registered investment advisor aggregator with roots as a 1099-affiliated platform, has grown large enough in its integrated W-2 employee channe<\/a>l to create two separate business lines, according to CEO Burt White.<\/p>\n

In practice, that means Carson has split its sales and recruiting teams into two divisions to serve the different channels. As a strategy, it means Carson\u2019s home office employees will \u201cwake up every day\u201d focused on growth and sustainability for just one channel, rather than two, White said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur view is to be about two-thirds integrated and one-third independent, which is about where we are now,\u201d White said. \u201cWe want to make sure that we have a strong foothold in both because they\u2019re so complementary in achieving scale and keeping entrepreneurial independence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past several years, Carson has been one of the most active acquirers in the RIA sector<\/a>, often bringing on firms as 1099 affiliates, which allowed them to gain access to Carson\u2019s platform while still steering their own practices.<\/p>\n

Related:Aspen-Owned $4B RIA Summitry Founder Steps Down, Elevates Two Co-CEOs<\/a><\/p>\n

About four years ago, however, Omaha, Neb.-based RIA leaned into bringing firms into its own fully integrated channel. That division has since grown to 48 offices nationwide following last week\u2019s transition by yet another partner firm, FFR Wealth Team, in Covington, Ky.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a platform that, regardless of what advisors want to do, we are here to support them,\u201d White said. \u201cWe want to make sure they never have to leave Carson for the next chapter of their life.\u201d<\/p>\n

A little over a month ago, White told Carson employees the firm would be taking a new direction, creating teams for each channel rather than having the same team oversee both. Through that transition, Carson has appointed its former head of business consulting, Scott Conroy, to lead the independent channel. Meanwhile, White and the team are actively recruiting an experienced RIA leader to take the helm of its integrated W-2 channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it\u2019s newer to us, we want someone with some experience and outside thinking that can come in and help us lead that group,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"scott-conroy-carson-group.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Scott Conroy has been tapped to lead Carson Group’s independent channel.<\/p>\n

Popular Channel<\/p>\n

One of the country\u2019s largest RIAs, Mariner, has a similar dual-track approach with independent and W-2 channels. Last June, the Overland Park, Kan.-based RIA hired Rob Sandrew to oversee its independent channel, which has more than $40 billion in client assets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other large RIAs, such as Signature Estate & Investment Advisors<\/a> and NewEdge Advisors<\/a>, have previously spoken with Wealth Management about their work to offer 1099 affiliates the chance to move to their W-2 channels.<\/p>\n

Related:Deals & Moves: $608M Commonwealth Team Chooses Cetera<\/a><\/p>\n

According to White, interest from existing Carson 1099 advisors has grown to the point that the RIA had a \u201cbacklog\u201d of advisors who wanted to make the move.<\/p>\n

One reason he points to is surging firm valuations<\/a> and higher interest rates, which make it hard for second-generation advisors<\/a> to buy out founders through succession planning. Another is advisors\u2019 desire to get out of the day-to-day running of the business and focus more on working with clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see the trend of independent advisors considering W-2 as only accelerating over the years ahead,\u201d White said. \u201cIt has been accelerating in the industry, accelerating here, and we think it\u2019s only going to go further.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Orsini, a director at M&A bank and consultancy MarshBerry, also sees a continued shift of 1099 firms operating at least some W-2 business.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs RIAs grow, the strategic objectives slide from adding assets and advisors to building a more integrated\/institutional business,\u201d Orsini said. \u201cThe W-2 model gives firms greater control of the client relationship, provides a more consistent client experience, and provides operating leverage across the platform, which are all drivers of long-term enterprise value.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related:Mercer Claims Ex-Employee Took Client Info To New Role<\/a><\/p>\n

Orsini added, however, that the 1099 model will remain a large part of the RIA sector, with the strategy, like the one at Carson and other RIAs, more of an \u201cevolution\u201d of the larger firms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe independent channel is still an effective way to attract entrepreneurial advisors, expand distribution and build scale,\u201d Orsini said. \u201cIt\u2019s a low-cost entry point that allows advisors to leverage firm resources while remaining independent. Over time, if advisors are looking to transition over to a W-2 model, it gives the partner firm the inside track if they so desire to acquire the practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good Mix<\/p>\n

According to Carson\u2019s White, one advantage of the dual model is that firms in the 1099 channel and Carson can \u201cdate\u201d for a period of years before making a full commitment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you acquire a firm, you don\u2019t know them very well at first,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

Another benefit, in White\u2019s view, is that the 1099 channel can provide capital to keep funding the M&A work, along with technology and infrastructure investments. He said the setup keeps Carson from constantly taking on debt to fund acquisitions\u2014a fate he said pure W-2 integrators will face over time to keep growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat growth that comes in allows us to not have to tie up a lot of capital,\u201d White said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to go out and borrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to MarshBerry, 2026 may set yet another record year for RIA M&A, with over 400 deals<\/a>. The 10 most active acquirers accounted for 32.1% of all transactions throughout the first half.<\/p>\n

The leaders by number of deals are in a four-way tie, including Carson and Hightower Advisors, both multi-channel aggregators. The other two, however, are full-integrators Savant Wealth Management and Wealth Enhancement Group.<\/p>\n

White said he expects other 1099-affiliate RIA aggregators will start bulking up on W-2 channels in a similar fashion to Carson. On the integrator side, he doesn\u2019t envy firms that have grown solely through a W-2 model.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t sound good to me,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat comes with scale is a lack of independence, and that is not where we want to be at all\u2014independence is so vital to us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carson Group, the registered investment advisor aggregator with roots as a 1099-affiliated platform, has grown large enough in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[114,268,85,46,266,267],"class_list":["post-539923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}