Carson Group Fully Acquires $1B Iowa Firm

Carson Group is fully acquiring an Iowa-based independent Carson firm managing about $1 billion in client assets. 

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The Omaha, Neb.-based Carson Group revealed it will fully acquire Carson Wealth Cedar Rapids, including its second location in Las Vegas. Russ Nieland, a managing director and advisor with 27 years in the industry, leads the firm. According to his BrokerCheck profile, his background includes stints with TD Ameritrade, LPL Financial and Cetera.

Related: Long-Time Carson Exec Aaron Schaben to Depart

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“Our decision to expand our partnership with Carson Group is our way of ensuring our legacy and ensuring the multigenerational ownership structure we established can continue to grow and meet the diverse needs of our clients,” Nieland said in a statement.

Carson’s setup includes approximately 50 fully-fledged Carson Wealth locations and more than 150 partner offices throughout the country. The firm works with about 51,000 client families and manages approximately $38.5 billion in assets.

Related: Carson Group President Teri Shepherd To Step Down

The acquisition of the Cedar Rapids and Las Vegas locations comes after a tumultuous year for Carson Group, including several high-profile executives’ departures. 

In April, CEO and Board Chairman Ron Carson stepped down while retaining majority ownership, with Managing Partner and Chief Strategy Officer Burt White taking over as CEO. Carson claimed the move was to devote more time to his “family’s humanitarian impact.” 

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Envestnet alum Dani Fava took White’s former position in the aftermath, while former LPL executive Heather Randolph Carter became the firm’s chief marketing officer. Orion alum Daniel Applegrath joined as chief financial officer to replace Nick Engelbart, who now oversees the firm’s M&A strategy.

In December, Aaron Schaben, a divisional president at Carson Partners, left the firm to be the CEO of Ron Carson’s family office. Just one week prior, Carson Group President Teri Shepherd announced she’d be leaving the company, with CEO Burt White saying the firm supported her decision to “focus on her family.” 

In July 2019, Carson named Shepherd and Schaben co-presidents (though Schaben had since taken on a different role at Carson Partners).

Carson Group is also facing a lawsuit from its former CMO, Mary Kate Gulick, who claimed the firm’s inaction when handling an alleged sexual assault by a firm employee at an industry conference (and Carson allegedly deciding to keep the employee at the company) left her psychologically scarred. 

Carson claimed she was eventually let go by White, who allegedly told her she oscillated between “greatness, and, I don’t know, unhappiness.” In a response to WealthManagement.com at the time, a Carson Group spokesperson said the firm would “unequivocally dispute” the allegations. The case is ongoing in Nebraska federal court.