Retirement Tax Services Podcast What actually counts as growth? with Michael and Liam from Carson Group
Feb 23, 2026
Liam Heffernan, an M&A team member who handles valuations and integrations. Michael, an M&A leader advising RIAs on transactions and growth. They discuss why tax planning helps firms grow, how true organic revenue differs from market-driven asset flows, and the repeatable prospecting and valuation factors that drive real expansion.
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Tax Planning Is The Last True Alpha
- Tax planning and expanded services are the remaining alphas in advisor differentiation.
- Michael cites a $600–$700M Kansas City RIA that chose partnership to speed delivery of trust, estate, and tax planning instead of building tech for years.
Kansas City RIA Chose Speed Over Building Tech
- A Kansas City RIA chose partnership over building internal tech because building a comparable platform would take years.
- The founder estimated five years to build and still be behind, so they partnered to offer trust and tax services faster.
Separate Market Gains From Real Organic Growth
- Distinguish market-driven growth from true organic growth to assess firm value.
- Liam explains sellers often show double-digit AUM increases from market returns; buyers pay top dollar for net new assets and client acquisition metrics.