Bridging the financing gap for small-to-medium sized businesses.

About Us

An Investment Bank Securing Capital for Noteworthy Businesses

Carofin specializes in raising capital for revenue-generating small-to-medium sized businesses at inflection points. These are unique opportunities for private investment with the potential for outsized returns. We identify situations where a relatively small amount of capital has the potential to have a substantial impact on a business and its long-term profitability. We bring efficiency to the process of placing capital. Once completed, we remain involved, monitoring investment performance via our portal.

Our aim is to generate wealth for our investors by presenting compelling opportunities and supporting determined entrepreneurs. We firmly believe that informed and successful investors can both enrich the lives of business owners and their employees while also invigorating the economies of the local and rural communities they operate in.

Learn more about how Carofin selects and develops investment opportunities.

Carofin at a Glance

C.E.O. Bruce V. Roberts founded Carolina Financial Securities, LLC in 1997 with a singular focus – to structure, sell, and support current income and capital gains private investments. Over the years, we’ve garnered the trust of investors who have invested over $1.1 Billion in hand-selected direct private placements. This capital has fueled the growth plans of more than 100 dynamic businesses through over 200 transactions.

In 2018, Mr. Roberts further expanded our footprint by establishing Carofin, LLC, a second FINRA-registered broker-dealer. Carofin introduces a cutting-edge proprietary technology platform, offering investors direct access to a diverse range of investments. We are now offering this robust, cloud-based service to select third-party financial institutions.

The firm has a nationwide network of experienced banking professionals, each with expertise in numerous industry sectors. At Carofin, we adhere to institutional standards in our corporate finance process, complemented by rigorous due diligence protocols. We take pride in providing ongoing support to our investors throughout the life cycle of their investments.

Over the years we’ve been fortunate to champion many outstanding firms at the forefront of their industries. Among them, a medical device company offering patients a revolutionary hearing “lens” that provides users with 2.5x the bandwidth of traditional hearing aids. Another has developed and manufactured a specialized cordless lift system for window treatments that can eliminate the risk of infant strangulation. Still another’s cutting-edge technology captures and retains mobile calls and texts, regardless of the carrier. This meets the S.E.C.’s compliance requirements for Wall Steet firms to archive their communications.

To be sure, while not all our assignments have such wide-ranging effects, each offers a company the capital to advance their business plan — creating jobs and contributing to their local communities.

The Carofin Team

Bruce Roberts

Chief Executive Officer

Bruce has been an investment banker and entrepreneur for over 30 years. His professional activity centers around private finance and the broader support of entrepreneurs and private business owners. 

Peter Milhaupt

Chairman

As Chairman of Carolina Financial Securities, Peter’s primary focus is developing and expanding the firm’s primary distribution capabilities for originating investment capital for the Firm’s clients.

Craig Gilmore

Chief Operating Officer

Craig has managed the Accounting, Compliance and IT for the family of Carolina Financial Group entities since joining the firm in 2006.  He serves the roles of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

Bruce Smith

Vice President - Investor Development

Bruce introduces Carofin to prospects interested in direct private investments. Focusing on both accreditation and suitability, he ensures what Carofin offers is appropriate for investors.

Nash Roberts

Vice President - Sales and Syndication

Nash has been with Carofin since 2012 and leads the firm’s marketing strategy. He brings private markets capital raising experience across multiple industries, issuer stages, and asset classes.

Garrick Ruiz

Vice President - Sales and Syndication

Garrick is a tenured investment professional who has spent his entire career working in financial services, both within wealth management and third-party distribution for companies including Raymond James and USAA.

Joshua Greene

Vice President - Sales and Analytics

Josh concentrates his efforts building relationships with institutional and private investment partners and leveraging his Chartered Financial Analyst designation to enhance Carofin’s research and analysis efforts.

Candice Soave

Director - Sales and Syndication

Candice brings C-Suite experience and has led initiatives for start-ups and well-established companies, from strategic planning to advertising, project development, and M&A.

Mathias Hoffrichter

Compliance Specialist

Matt strengthens CFG’s compliance efforts with his legal education and FINRA background, often interfacing with outside counsel and providing guidance on FINRA rules.

Julia Gray

Investor Relations Specialist

Over her 20 years of investment banking experience, Julia S. Gray has held positions of AVP of Operations, Director of Operations, UIT Trader and Senior Business Analyst. She is a graduate of St. Mary’s College and attended the University of Georgia.

John Gramling

Managing Director

John Gramling joined the Carolina Financial Group in 2017 as a Managing Director based in Gramling, South Carolina.

Stephen Clifford

Managing Director

Steve has spent the past 35+ years building and managing sales teams, hiring, training, and developing professionals for firms such as MetLife, Nationwide Financial, and Guardian Investor Services.

Thomas Saykaly

Managing Director

Responsible for leading Carofin’s commercial real estate investment banking efforts, Thomas leverages his 20 years of real estate capital markets expertise and $3B+ of advisory engagements to financially engineer the optimal capital stack for CRE operators/developers, corporate owner/occupiers and debt/equity investment funds.

Jeremiah Smith

CRM Data Analyst

Jeremiah Smith supports Carofin by developing and managing customer data models, monitoring and managing key performance metrics, and optimizing sales and marketing processes.

Joe Schrader

Banking Analyst

Joe supports our investment banking pursuits, bringing experience in analyzing public markets from RBC Capital Markets. He  graduated with honors from NC State with a B.S. in IT and earned an M.S. in Finance from Boston College.

Mina Girgis

Banking Analyst

Mina graduated from the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, where he majored in Finance, with a special focus on portfolio engineering, value investing, and public markets.

What can Carofin do for you?