Colorado Springs, CO Office

Carlson Financial is a retirement planning and wealth management firm that serves individuals, trusts, small businesses, family offices and institutional clients, managing roughly $632 million in discretionary assets for about 1,100 client households through a ten-advisor team. The firm offers comprehensive financial planning and continuous investment advisory services, including written financial plans and portfolio management for separately managed accounts.

The firm’s investment approach is driven by a cash-flow–based financial planning process, with discretionary portfolios primarily constructed from equities and exchange-traded funds to balance long-term growth and reliable income. Investment selection and monitoring are performed by the firm’s Chief Investment Officer and investment team using a mix of fundamental, technical, quantitative and qualitative analysis and both tactical and strategic asset-allocation techniques.

Noteworthy aspects of the firm include operating five offices—a larger multi-office footprint than most firms in its peer group—and that many advisers are independently licensed insurance agents who may recommend and sell life, health, long-term-care insurance and fixed-indexed annuities, a relationship that is disclosed as a potential conflict. Operationally, Carlson Financial uses a third-party back-office provider (AE Wealth Management) for billing, reporting and platform access while retaining in-house investment decision-making, and it has a policy of not accepting proxy-voting authority from clients.