Professional Biography

Jeffrey R. Carlson is a founding principal of Carlson Capital Management. Jeff applies his more than 40 years of experience to managing client relationships, leading growth initiatives, and providing leadership as a member of the firm’s board of directors.

Jeff is a graduate of St. Olaf College, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, with concentrations in finance and accounting. Jeff began his career with IDS/American Express and shortly thereafter earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® designation.

His entrepreneurial spirit and ability to see opportunities were the characteristics that led Jeff and his brother Greg to co-found CCM in 1987. Jeff and Greg saw an opportunity to better serve clients as independent advisors with no proprietary products. They then saw an opportunity to work on a fee-based model instead of taking commissions. Next, they sought to fill the firm with talented colleagues, which enabled CCM to grow into the integrated wealth advisory it is today.

In his decades of service to clients and their families, Jeff has developed specific areas of expertise in retirement and early retirement planning, stock option management, estate planning, insurance services, and developing integrated plans that include philanthropic giving. Jeff has a particular connection with entrepreneurs, as he has personally faced many of their challenges during his own experience building a successful business.

In his longtime home of Hastings, Minnesota, Jeff is an active volunteer and community connector. As a member of the Hastings Area Rotary Club, his recent endeavors include fundraising and organizing for Hastings Rivertown Fishing & Boating, which serves seniors, veterans and people with disabilities through fishing and boating excursions on the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers. He has also been instrumental in the foundation of the Hastings chapter of Cycling Without Age, which maintains a fleet of trishaws on which volunteers take seniors for bike excursions.

Additional organizations that Jeff is active with include St. Philips Lutheran Church and Green Lake Lutheran Ministries. He also served for more than 20 years on the state board of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He is an active alumnus of St. Olaf, serving on the planning committee of the Class of ‘83.

In maintaining family tradition, Jeff remains an avid tennis player and has served in the past as a volunteer coach with the Hastings High School Tennis Team. Jeff also enjoys playing golf, traveling in his motorcoach, and spending time with his wife, Stacy, their three grown children, and daughter-in-law. When not in Hastings, Jeff can often be found at his cabin in Cumberland, Wisconsin.

Personal Thoughts

Sports have and always will play an important part in my life. It is through these activities that I have learned hard work, discipline, and teamwork. Let me provide a few examples.

As a sophomore on the St. Olaf Basketball team, I was disenchanted with my playing time and the lack of opportunities to prove myself. With my speech to my coach memorized, I walked into his office to make my case for increased playing time. Before I was even able to say my opening line, I was presented with these words: “You are slow, you make poor decisions, and have an inability to score!”

So, I asked myself, “Do I quit or do I try to prove him wrong?”. By the end of the season, I was the first guard off the bench, lettered, and was given the “Mr. Hustle” award by my teammates. I may not have been the most talented, but I understood the value and reward in working hard and doing my best to help the team.

Another example recalls how I always wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps as a strategist and coach. I can picture my dad, days before a tennis match, shuffling and re-shuffling line ups to get the best opportunity for success against the opposing team. To a degree, what I really enjoy doing at Carlson Capital Management, I learned from my father. First, I know that to best serve our clients requires expertise and strategy from many different angles, including tax, estate, and investment perspectives. Understanding data and information is important, but it is the ability to put information together into a cohesive plan and structure that requires true expertise, experience and leadership. Second, to meet the needs of our clients, I am able to act as a coach to incorporate the best game strategies to “prevent unsuccessful outcomes” and create the best opportunity to win – that is, how to best accumulate, manage, and distribute their assets in such a manner as to help them accomplish what is most important to them.