Integrated Wealth Management
Our Firm
Care Is at Our Core
Firmly grounded in foundational values and focused intently on each client’s well-being, Carlson Capital Management has been redefining partnership for more than 35 years.
How Do We Offer Peace of Mind?
Keeping it Simple
Our approach to wealth management surrounds you with a team who integrates financial disciplines, simplifies your life, and helps provide peace of mind. Our disciplined investment philosophy is based upon academic research and the belief that markets are efficient. It is designed to remove emotion, mitigate risk, capture global market returns, and drive your wealth management success.
Building Trust
Our objective, fee-based structure assures independent insight and an ethical, transparent relationship. We’re proud of the fact that our perspective and approach have earned Carlson Capital Management a reputation for performance and fiduciary responsibility. Learn more about the team whose steadfast commitment is to work on your behalf.
Deeply Rooted in Our Mission
At Carlson Capital Management, our team works tirelessly every day to be a trusted partner that allows our clients to feel secure in the knowledge that their investment, estate, tax, retirement, risk management, and philanthropic plans are complete, optimized, and integrated, in order that they may understand and use their wealth as a tool to accomplish what is important to them.
We’re Here to Serve
We’ve built our firm around serving clients with an integrated approach to investment advising and financial planning. See what it means to us to partner with clients and their families.
We’re Fiduciary Advisors
“It’s doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.” Carlson Capital Management has provided wealth management to clients under a fiduciary standard of care for many years.
We’re Employee-Owned
We’re proud to be an employee-owned wealth management firm. See our colleagues reflect on what it means for clients to work with a wealth management firm that is owned by its employees.
Our History
Below are some of the key events and milestones throughout our history.
1987
Formation of present day Carlson Capital Management, with offices in Hastings, Minnesota, and Northfield, Minnesota
1992
$5 million of assets under management; three employees in the firm; transition from commission-based to fee-based investment management firm
1996
$50 million of assets under management
1998
Charitable trust administration services added; began partnership with Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) and became the largest DFA advisor in Minnesota; announced the addition of tax preparation services exclusively for CCM clients
1999
$100 million of assets under management; announced the addition of employee stock option planning
2000
Acquired historic 11 Bridge Square building in Northfield, Minnesota
2001
Corporate trustee services added with the formation of Carlson Trust Company, a division of the National Independent Trust Company
2002
Principals form American Center for Philanthropy, a Minnesota-based 501(c)(3) dedicated to the advancement of philanthropy
2003
Joined Zero Alpha Group, a national network of leading independent advisory firms
2004
Expanded by opening an office in Rochester, Minnesota; recognized and ranked as a Top Wealth Manager by Bloomberg Wealth Manager magazine
2005
$500 million of assets under management; Principal Greg Carlson featured on the cover of Boomer Market Advisor magazine; Recognized and ranked as a Top Wealth Manager by Bloomberg Wealth Manager magazine
2007
Recognized and ranked by Financial Advisor magazine as a Top Registered Investment Advisor and as one of America’s Top Wealth Managers in Wealth Manager magazine; Among the first investment advisors globally to be recognized with certification from the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX)
2008
Expanded by opening an office in Bloomington, Minnesota; Principal Justin Stets earns the AIF® (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) designation, representing a commitment to the highest standards of investment fiduciary excellence
2011
Opened a new office building in historic downtown Hastings, Minnesota; celebrated the 10th annual sponsorship of the Northfield Jingle Bell Run/Walk
2013
$1 billion of assets under management
2014
Establishment of ViaForte – Wealth Strategy and Insurance Advisors; Principal Justin Stets named President of Zero Alpha Group
2015
Ranked #2 in CNBC’s 2015 Top 100 Wealth Management Firms in the U.S.
2016
Returned to downtown Rochester, Minnesota; Recognized as Business of the Year by Hastings Chamber of Commerce; Named a Top 100 Small Business by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; $1.5 billion of assets under management
2017
Celebrated 20 years of serving clients; Honored with Twin Cities Business Small Business Success Story Award; recognized for 10 years of CEFEX certification
2018
$2 billion of assets under management; Named among the 100 Best Companies to Work For by Minnesota Business magazine
2019
Named a Dakota-Scott Employer of Excellence
2020
Named a Financial Times 300 Top RIA
2021
Honored as a Star Tribune Top Workplace in Minnesota; President Justin Stets named a Notable Leader in Finance; $3 billion of assets under management
2022
Honored as a Star Tribune Top Workplace in Minnesota
2023
Honored as a Star Tribune Top Workplace in Minnesota
Disclosure
Please see here for IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION regarding rankings and awards.
Placing the client in the center of all our actions is not just a nice business slogan to have, it is rooted in the fabric of who we are as individuals, and what we believe as a firm.
Justin D. Stets, AIF®
President