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Our Founder’s Story

Founder’s Story

By: Rob Anderson

The Early Years: Where It All Began

I’ve spent my entire career in the investment world—long enough to have seen nearly every strategy, trend, and idea that’s come and gone. Some brilliant. Some questionable. Many that most people would never even hear about.

But when I think back to where it all began, the world of finance couldn’t have felt further away.

I grew up in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Houston. My family was close, faith-driven, and hardworking—but money was always tight. We didn’t talk about investing. We talked about getting by. When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, everything changed. I lost him when I was just 17.

That loss shaped me profoundly. It gave me a heart for single parents and anyone who has had to shoulder more than their share of life's challenges early on. It also taught me something that no classroom ever could: grit, resourcefulness, and the kind of determination that comes from starting with very little.

“From the age of 14, I worked every job I could find—and somewhere along the way, I realized that time and money were deeply connected.”

That realization sparked a lifelong fascination with investing.

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Private investing, done right, demands more than optimism.

It demands due diligence—the kind that institutions rely on and individuals rarely have access to.

Rob Anderson - Founder & Principal

Breaking In: The First Steps Toward Finance

With God’s grace, I was able to finance my way through college. During my junior year, I landed a job at a mutual fund company that would later become part of Invesco. I started in the call center, answering questions from shareholders and financial advisors—learning, listening, and absorbing the language of investing.

By graduation, I had earned my securities licenses and transitioned into sales, eventually traveling across the country to support financial advisors in serving their clients. Over the next two decades, I worked with firms of every size. I saw what worked, what didn’t, and how investors’ needs often got lost in corporate layers and cookie-cutter products.

One lesson stood out: the best ideas in investing don’t always come from Wall Street.

Discovering Real Estate: From Landlord to Limited Partner

My love for real estate started early. In 2003—just one year after getting married and buying our first home—I purchased my first rental property. Around that same time, I read "Rich Dad Poor Dad", and everything clicked.

I wanted to own assets that worked for me, not the other way around. So I began buying more properties—one at a time.

But after my third eviction (and countless midnight maintenance calls), I realized “passive income” wasn’t so passive. Even with a property manager, I found myself managing the manager. I had created a job for myself—and I already had one.

That’s when I discovered passive real estate investing. Compared to direct ownership, the returns were stronger, the headaches fewer. I sold my rentals and redeployed the capital into private real estate deals.

New Perspective: Lessons from the Private Markets

My first commercial real estate deal came in 2010. The timing couldn’t have been more pivotal. The world was still recovering from the Great Financial Crisis, and public markets were struggling. Yet these private investments offered something different: tangible assets, steady income, and alignment with operators who had real skin in the game.

It felt like I had been invited into the big leagues.

Looking back, I had no idea what I was doing, of course. I invested with people I liked and trusted, but did little to no due diligence. Thankfully, a few early wins gave me confidence—but I later realized that private markets require far more discipline and data evaluation than most investors appreciate.

“Private investing, done right, demands more than optimism. It demands due diligence—the kind that institutions rely on and individuals rarely have access to.”

That realization became the foundation for Carlton Lane Capital.

I founded this firm to serve investors like me—those who’ve worked hard, built something meaningful, and are ready to make their money work smarter. People who’ve outgrown the one-size-fits-all portfolios of traditional advisors but don’t want the cost or complexity of building their own family office.

Carlton Lane exists to bring family office–level sophistication to investors who deserve more than generic advice. We provide institutional-quality due diligence, curated private real estate opportunities, and the kind of transparency and alignment that’s rare in this space.

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