Spectrum Management Group, a boutique wealth management firm headquartered in Indianapolis, is affiliating as a Carson Wealth office with $575 million in client assets under management (AUM).
Founded in 1997, Spectrum provides financial services, investment portfolios and estate tax planning. The firm becomes the fifth RIA with more than $500 million in AUM to affiliate with Omaha-based Carson in the past 12 months through its equity swap option, which includes rebranding as a Carson Wealth office, according to a press release.
Under the deal, Spectrum co-founders Bob Phillips and Leslie Thompson will maintain active majority ownership of their firm and will remain the strategic decision-makers for all business decisions and operations in their Indianapolis office.
Phillips said in a press release that he and Ron Carson, founder and CEO of the Carson Group, have known each other for more than a decade and that they were philosophically in agreement with how they did business with clients.
“Having a partner ... will provide us [with] the tools [and] resources necessary to help many more [clients] for years to come,” she said.
Jason Carver, vice president of mergers and acquisitions for Carson, said in an interview that Carson was looking for firms that were successful businesses that needed Carson’s help to grow to the next level.
“This is something we’re looking for, and it comes with scale,” he said.
He said that because Carson sought to give its affiliates increased name recognition by rebranding them as Carson Wealth offices.
“We’re OK with firms affiliating outside the equity swap, but if we do it, we think its value for value,” he said. “They’re getting access to our infrastructure and technology, compliance, back office support, advisor recruiting, and marketing support.”
Carver said that Carson had spent between $60 million to 70 million on building out its technology platform.