Jeff & Greg Carlson

Advisor success story

Brothers Jeff and Greg Carlson of Carlson Capital Management are wealth managers who operate a bit differently than many of their peers. Instead of specializing in just one niche, Carlson Capital Management has provided services to several distinct markets—including corporations, educators, physicians and entrepreneurs.

With nearly $800 million in assets under management, the brothers have built a thriving business throughout Minnesota with branch offices across the state focused on various specialties. Founded some 25 years ago, today Carlson is a fully integrated advisory firm with specialties in financial, investment, estate, tax and other financial services—all tied together through a comprehensive wealth management strategy. The firm serves high-networth individuals and families, business owners, and non-profit organizations and serves as corporate trustee for clients through Carlson Trust Company.

The wealth managers who work at Carlson Capital Management are focused on helping their clients align their values with their financial resources. The downturn in the markets has only increased opportunities to do exactly that, according to Jeff Carlson. A disciplined, values-driven wealth management offering is a strong differentiator that allows those at the firm to provide clients with a comprehensive and long-term perspective that goes well beyond the market's short-term performance. Individual interviews with clients result in investment plans that seek to provide the greatest reward for the least risk and support individual resources with the invested wealth. Carlson's approach to wealth management also provides clients with a team of experts that integrates financial disciplines using strategies based upon time-tested academic research and efficient market theory. Additionally, the firm's fee-based structure is set up to provide independent insight, and an ethical, transparent relationship.

While there are differing views on how to pursue wealth management organizationally, the brothers largely have come down on the in-house side of the argument. The majority of clients' assets are managed internally, and Carlson Capital Management also runs an internal trust department and offers accounting and other financial services. That said, the firm does incorporate some asset-class mutual funds from Dimensional Fund Advisors, Vanguard and others into its offering. "We believe you can control the message better and give a more coherent level of quality and service if you do it yourself," says Jeff Carlson. "At the same time we realize this sort of approach isn't for everyone, as you need to have certain efficiencies of scale for it to work. We're fortunate to have the scale to build from the inside out."

That scale has enabled Carlson Capital Management to grow into one of the largest wealth management firms in Minnesota, with four offices and a staff of 21 professionals. The brothers credit their success to always focusing on the client experience. "We set out to achieve excellence. We didn't have any particular goals in mind in terms of the business, except to do the best we could for the clients we gained," says Jeff Carlson.
Their strong results as businessmen, while not initially anticipated, are hardly surprising given the brothers' competitive spirit and history of achievement. "We were good doubles players on the college tennis circuit," Jeff Carlson explains. "Eventually we became the Minnesota state champions in doubles. Our father was a tennis coach, and we have an affinity for clients and colleagues whose values involve achievement and a focus on an individual discipline."

The Carlsons believe that a sports background gives a person a leg up in the business world because of the discipline and hard work that it takes to earn success. The values of a Midwestern upbringing also play a big part in how the brothers approach their business—they grew up on the prairies of western Minnesota, two of five siblings with childhoods that revolved around family, church and sports. "Honesty is a value I hold sacred," says Greg Carlson. "Honesty means always telling the truth, even when it hurts. Honesty means being transparent in how I conduct business and in all aspects of my life. Most importantly, honesty means being authentic even when it shows my flaws. It is the foundation of the first 22 years of my life, with the experiences of the next 25 years, that guides me in working with the clients of Carlson Capital Management and developing our firm into a successful wealth management firm."

The Carlsons' hard work and commitment to excellence have been further bolstered by their efforts to continually improve and deliver wealth management best practices. For example, the firm is affiliated with Zero Alpha Group, an organization of like-minded wealth management firms that share resources, capabilities and intellectual capital. The brothers also have developed and honed their wealth management strategies through their work with CEG Worldwide, a California-based wealth management coaching firm. "We attended the CEG Worldwide programs and found them tremendously worthwhile," says Jeff Carlson. "They back up their insights with proven research, and the result is a holistic approach to wealth management that takes it a step beyond individual practices into a fully integrated discipline. As a result, we are well-positioned to go forward in the 2000s—and so are our clients."

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