Charlotte, NC-based Capital Guardian, the US wealth management firm, has added the Carolina Retirement Group - founded in 2005 by Jim Lowry and Beau Horack - to its independent channel.

Lowry has over 12 years of experience in the financial services industry, specializing in small-business retirement plans and individual retirement planning, and has worked at firms such as JP Morgan Chase and Merrill Lynch. He specializes in: vendor analysis and benchmarking, investment due diligence, fiduciary plan review, and high-touch employee education and investment support.

Meanwhile, with over 15 years of experience, Horack focuses on investment management and financial planning and consulting for corporate retirement plans and their fiduciaries and participants.

At the start of August, the firm named Scott Chaisson as president of wealth management, responsible for growing this business - including its captive advisor offices.

In the previous week, it brought in two new teams to its independent channel from Woodbury Services, after appointing industry veteran Luis Alegre - latterly a vice president at AllianceBernstein - as managing director of international investments in Downtown Miami.