Ramsey Financial Group names Meagan Murphy Crawford partner

Ramsey Financial Group has elevated Meagan Murphy Crawford to partner and put her in charge of a new space capital stack strategy. The move formalizes a push to build more financing tools for the space industry beyond traditional venture equity.

Why it matters: - Ramsey Financial Group is betting that space companies need a broader financing toolkit than venture capital alone. - The firm is formalizing a strategy that could affect how space startups fund growth, manage risk and keep more ownership in founders’ hands. - The shift also signals a deeper family-office style commitment to space as an investable industry.

What happened: - Ramsey Financial Group named Meagan Murphy Crawford a partner of the Houston-based firm. - Crawford had previously been a principal at Ramsey Financial Group. - Crawford will lead the firm’s work on the space capital stack thesis. - The announcement was made Oct. 23, 2026.

The details: - Ramsey Financial Group said the Womack and Crawford families use the firm to administer and develop investments. - Leo B. Womack said Crawford has helped administer investments across space, agriculture technology and artificial intelligence over the past decade. - Womack said naming Crawford a partner makes her a deciding member on the firm’s broader investment activity. - The firm’s investment activity also includes energy, life sciences and real estate. - The space capital stack is a five-layer structure described in the white paper, “Beyond Venture: Space Needs a Complete Capital Stack.” - The paper argues the main bottleneck in space has shifted from launch to the balance sheet. - The five layers are data and intelligence through Off Earth Data, early-stage equity through Starchart Ventures, private credit through a vehicle in formation for 2027, infrastructure development through SpacePort Fund and insurance through Alera Group Emerging Industries. - Off Earth Data tracked 3,268 space companies as of Oct. 23, 2026. - Crawford remains a principal of SpacePort Fund, founder of Starchart Ventures and an investor in and advisor to Off Earth Data. - The white paper is published here.

Between the lines: - The firm is arguing that space companies are overreliant on equity, which can dilute founders and early backers as risk declines. - The white paper’s example says a founder who raises four equity rounds ends up with 19% ownership, versus 40% if a credit facility is available from first revenue. - The paper says 21 ownership points can hinge on whether a lender will finance a space asset. - It also says launch insurance is mature, but coverage weakens once hardware reaches orbit and starts earning revenue. - The paper says 95.6% of satellites lacked post-launch coverage as of Aug. 23, 2026. - On the ground, aerospace payroll in Brevard County rose 89% from 2017 to 2023, according to the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast. - Over the following period, housing permits fell 29% from 2023 to 2025, according to U.S. Census building permit data. - Off Earth Data’s licensed-spaceport registry listed 20 U.S. sites as of Oct. 23, 2026. - The funding thesis ties space growth to infrastructure gaps on Earth as well as in orbit.

What’s next: - Ramsey Financial Group said Crawford will lead development of the space capital stack going forward. - The firm said a private credit vehicle is in formation for 2027. - The company is positioning the five-layer model as a framework for the next stage of space finance.

The bottom line: - Ramsey Financial Group is moving from investing in space companies to building the financing infrastructure it believes the sector still lacks.