Carson Wealth Management Review

Pros and Cons of Carson Wealth Management

Types of Clients

Carson Wealth Management serves standard- and high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, and corporations. It largely serves individual clients and families, though, making up most of the account numbers on its Form ADV. Similarly, its website is heavily directed toward retail clients and affluent families, with the listed services (e.g., financial planning, retirement planning, education savings, etc.) being ones you would normally expect for individual clients.

Carson doesn’t list account size threshold for financial planning services; however, you must have a minimum number of investable assets for portfolio management. According to the firm’s Form CRS, this ranges between $5,000 and $250,000 depending on your needs and circumstances.

Financial Advisor Services

Carson Wealth features a strong lineup of advisory services, each devoted to a specific area of your finances. For instance, it offers comprehensive planning options, ranging from general needs to tax and estate planning. The firm also includes—and primarily focuses on—investment management, where it will build and manage an account on your behalf according to your goals and circumstances.

Below is a more detailed overview of Carson’s services:

Investment Management

Investment (or asset) management is one of Carson Wealth Management’s central services. According to the company’s Form ADV Part 2A, this is available under a predominantly discretionary arrangement. In other words, your advisor will make trades and execute a strategy for you without receiving approval. The terms of this, however, would be specified in an agreement you and the company sign.

As part of its portfolio management service, a Carson Wealth financial advisor will assess details about you—including your goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Then, they’ll help you construct and monitor a portfolio centered around these aspects.

Investment management is available on either a wrap-fee or non-wrap-fee payment schedule. With the former, transaction and brokerage expenses would be bundled with your applicable advisory fee percentage (see the fee structure section below for more).

Financial Planning

As noted, Carson Wealth also offers a well-rounded financial planning product, available for both individuals and businesses. In the arrangement, you’ll work with an advisor who will learn more about your objectives, needs, and holistic situation, ultimately crafting a tailored plan. Over time, you and your expert will check in with each other and determine if you need to make any changes. Per the firm’s website, plans may revolve around any of the following areas:

• Retirement
• Investing
• Your estate
• Cash flow and budgeting
• Managing wealth
• Taxes
• Small business ownership
• Insurance
• Education saving
• Risk management

Fee Structure

The fee structures at Carson Wealth Management depend on the service you receive. Its investment management service, for example, uses a fee based on the assets under management (AUM) of your account. Meanwhile, for financial planning (except for some programs), you’ll see an hourly or fixed fee arrangement, depending on your needs and the complexity of your situation or project.

The table below provides an overview of the fees and structures you’ll see at Carson Wealth:

Service/Program	Fee Structure	Fee Range
Asset management	Asset-based	Up to 2.50% AUM annually
Financial planning	Hourly or fixed	Hourly: up to $500/hr. Fixed: $500 to $25,000 depending on the situation and complexity
True Wealth Financial Planning (program)	Asset-based	0.20% of plan AUM or 0.10% when transferring assets within six months
Focused Wealth Planning (program)	N/A	No extra charge; offered through asset management

Investment Philosophy

According to its Form ADV and website, Carson Wealth Management appears to take a hands-on approach in building client portfolios. This is evident due to the company’s preference to manage client accounts on an exclusively discretionary basis, giving the firm and its advisors a great deal of authority to implement strategies and plans.

In its Form ADV Part 2A, Carson Wealth states that it may use a range of asset classes to design your portfolio, including but not limited to:

• Equities (e.g., exchange-listed securities, over-the-counter securities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and warrants)
• Fixed-income securities (e.g., corporate debt securities, municipal bonds, U.S. government securities, certificates of deposit (CDs), and commercial paper)
• Derivatives (e.g., options contracts on securities and commodities, futures contracts on tangibles and intangibles, and managed futures)
• Alternative investments (e.g., private equity, variable annuities, shorting, and interests in partnerships investing in real estate and oil and gas)

Disclosures

Carson Wealth Management (CWM, LLC) holds an ongoing registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment advisor. A coinciding legal requirement is reporting all conflicts of interest, disciplinary actions, and arbitrations on its annual and publicly available Form ADV, which lets the company maintain transparency and credibility with its clients, both current and prospective.

According to its most recent filing with the SEC, Carson Wealth has no disclosures to report. Besides editorial rankings and awards, this is a strong indicator of the firm’s overall quality, as it has managed to avoid legal entanglements or glaring issues involving its advisors. Even so, it’s advisable to research any professional or company you plan to do business with using resources such as FINRA’s BrokerCheck and the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website.

Customer Service and Becoming a Client

To become a client with Carson Wealth Management, a straightforward method is navigating to its website homepage. Here, you can scroll down to the bottom of the page and access the firm’s contact page, where you can request to schedule a brief discovery appointment with an advisor. For more general questions, the company also has a “Contact Us” page with a dedicated form.

The firm also provides a search tool that displays its nationwide locations, so you can locate a Carson Wealth financial advisor near you. It lets you quickly lookup professionals by ZIP code and state.

Methodology

This review is based on publicly available information directly from Carson Wealth Management’s website and the SEC. Neither the firm nor its representatives have any say on what we’ve included on this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Carson Wealth a fiduciary?

Carson Wealth Management is a fiduciary because of its status as an RIA with the SEC. This requires it to uphold ethical and forthright business practices, placing client needs above its own and disclosing any glaring conflicts of interest. Similarly, its investment advisor representatives (IARs) must adhere to this standard.

Is Carson Wealth Management good?

Carson Wealth is a large firm that has been around for a long time, most recently holding an exceptional top 10 spot in Barron’s 2024 RIA rankings. Its founder and current chairman of the larger Carson Group, Omani (Ron) Carson has also been recognized as a Barron’s Hall of Fame Advisor, an honor bestowed only to the best in the industry.

The firm offers a full range of services and has generally accessible minimums compared to other similarly sized firms. Its financial planning covers a spectrum of areas and is available for both businesses and clients. Likewise, its investment management is custom to your needs but involves granting a professional the authority to trade on your behalf.

To determine if Carson Wealth Management is the right advisory firm for you, you’ll need to consider what kind of advisor you want and what you feel is the right price. If you’re interested in the firm, we recommend attending an initial consultation to gain an understanding and first impression. This will help you decide whether it’s the optimal fit for your needs.

Does Carson Wealth offer a free initial consultation?

Yes, the first appointment with a Carson Wealth Management professional is free, which is often the case at advisory firms. However, it’s important to note that it’s just a short conversation to get to know each other and discuss your broad goals and general situation.