AllianceBernstein has announced an expanded role for its president, Onur Erzan, who is set to also become chief executive next spring.
The news caps a week of senior wealth management leadership changes that also reached Broadridge, Wedbush and Alaris Acquisitions.
The Nashville, Tennessee-based asset manager said Friday that Erzan will become president and CEO on April 1, 2027. He succeeds Seth Bernstein, who retires March 31, 2027, after nearly a decade in the top job. Bernstein will stay on AB's board of directors.
During Bernstein's tenure, the firm's assets under management nearly doubled to more than $919 billion as of Aug. 31. Its private wealth arm, Bernstein Private Wealth Management, accounted for $169 billion of the total.
Erzan joined AB in 2021 after two decades at McKinsey & Company, where he was a senior partner and co-led the Wealth & Asset Management practice. He became president of AB in January.
During his time at AB, he has been credited as a key figure in the launch of the firm's active ETF lineup, the creation of an integrated insurance-asset management unit and the expansion of its private credit and retirement income offerings.
As the leader overseeing BPWM, his purview includes AB’s Private Wealth Management, Global Private Alternatives and Global Asset Management Distribution businesses, in addition to the firm’s Strategy and Corporate Development functions.In his capacity as a leader on the private wealth side, he bolstered the buildout of its services for ultra-high-net-worth clients, global families and family offices.
Erzan has held a seat on the management committee at Equitable Holdings, AB's parent company, since 2021. Upon the completion of Equitable's pending merger with Corebridge Financial, he will join the combined company's leadership team under CEO Marc Costantini.
"Onur is an exceptional leader with deep experience across asset management and insurance," said Mark Pearson, CEO of Equitable Holdings and an AB board member.
"As the asset and wealth management landscape undergoes rapid change – with clients seeking deeper partnerships, broader capabilities and more integrated solutions – AB is uniquely positioned to deliver the insights, capabilities and partnership they need to achieve differentiated outcomes," Erzan said.
Broadridge Financial Solutions named Boaz Lahovitsky president of wealth management on Wednesday. He replaces Mike Alexander, who will stay with the company to work on strategic programs and initiatives.
Lahovitsky most recently was managing director of Personal Advisors at J.P. Morgan, where he built the bank's hybrid-advice business for mass-affluent clients. That model pairs fiduciary investment advice from human advisors with advisor platforms and digital client engagement.
His more than 20 years in the industry also include senior posts at Vanguard, where he led the high-net-worth advisor business. He ran wealth platform and business process outsourcing units at Citi and Genpact and held earlier roles at UBS and Booz Allen Hamilton.
The appointment comes as Broadridge expands its platform to let broker-dealers and RIAs offer crypto and tokenized securities.
"His experience across advice, technology, data, and client engagement makes him exceptionally well positioned to lead our Wealth Management business into its next chapter," said Tom Carey, Broadridge's global head of product and technology.
"Together, we have an opportunity to further strengthen our platform, help our clients navigate a rapidly changing market, and drive the next generation of growth in a time of great inflection in our industry through advancements in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Assets," he said.
Wedbush Securities hired Jim McDermott as managing director, investments, in its wealth management division in Chicago. McDermott has more than 30 years of experience advising individuals, families and business owners.
He arrives from Osaic Wealth and previously worked at Wells Fargo Advisors, Oppenheimer & Co., Morgan Stanley and Prudential Financial.
Chris Mone, Wedbush's executive vice president and head of wealth management, described the hire as part of a push to expand across the Midwest.
"What drew me to Wedbush is its client-first culture, the caliber of its people, and its leading research in tech and healthcare," McDermott said.
"Chicago remains one of the most important wealth management markets in the country, and Jim's leadership will play a significant role in our continued growth throughout the region," said Jon Underkofler, senior vice president and market area manager.
Alaris Acquisitions, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based sell-side M&A advisor to wealth management firms, named Natasha Pfeiffer managing director and head of buyer strategy.
She will manage the firm's relationships with more than 80 acquirers and oversee the buyer intelligence behind Lens, its proprietary platform for matching buyers and sellers. She will also work with deal teams as they help clients vet potential partners.
Pfeiffer spent nearly two decades advising founders, executives and boards on transactions. She was most recently chief legal officer and corporate secretary of SageView Advisory Group, where she sat on the executive leadership team and helped steer the firm through Creative Planning's deal to acquire SageView in 2025.
Before that, she was a senior legal director at Goldman Sachs. In that role she led the integration of the retail wealth business acquired with United Capital Financial Advisers into Goldman's private wealth management arm.
Pfeiffer is Alaris' third senior hire this year, following Jon Dubravac's arrival as senior deal leader earlier this month and Tony Leonard joining as managing director of business development in April.
"She knows that finding the right partner means looking beyond headline valuation," said Jacqueline Martinez, managing partner of Alaris, who cited Pfeiffer's "transaction experience, legal expertise and firsthand knowledge of the buyer and seller perspectives."
"As the wealth management M&A market becomes more sophisticated, having a clear understanding of how buyers structure deals, operate businesses and approach integration is critically important for sellers," said Allen Darby, Alaris' founder and CEO.
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