Carson Group Adds $5B Retirement-Focused RIA in Its Largest Deal Yet

Northwest Capital Management is a retirement and investment-focused firm that specializes in wealth management services for individuals and retirement plan services for plan sponsors and their participants. The firm was founded in 1998 in Portland, Oregon, as an independent and privately held investment advisory firm and has since grown to a team of 13 that serves more than $5 billion in assets under management.

The team will continue to be led by managing director, partner and senior investment advisor Brent Petty and senior investment advisor Fred Payne, Jr., with office locations in Portland and Seattle, Carson Group said.

The partnership will give Northwest Capital Management “enhanced resources and expanded capacity, along with access to Carson’s leading investments platform,” the companies said in a press release. “This will help support NWCM’s client base and provide retirement plan participants with experienced insights on legislation and regulations, elevating the level of expertise and service they receive.”

“Our affiliation with Carson will allow us to expand our resources considerably, gaining a larger support staff for client service, financial planning, investment research, portfolio analysis, trading and investment monitoring,” Petty said. “This will enable our teams to better provide the guidance clients require to achieve their personal financial goals.

“This partnership will also provide us with new resources for our plan sponsor partners and their participants,” he added. “We will now have specialized support in technology and investment research, and we will also broaden our depth of compliance and regulatory support.”

The companies pointed to a recent study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers that indicated 60% of investors want their advisors to offer holistic advice that covers their entire financial picture, including budgeting, debt management, tax planning, retirement planning and estate planning.

Carson Group now manages $28.2 billion in assets and serves more than 46,000 families among its advisory network of over 140 partner offices, it said.

Photo: Jamie Hopkins, managing partner of wealth solutions for Carson Group