Wealth Consulting Group has hired Jason Ehrlich as chief financial officer and head of corporate development, the latest in a string of senior moves aimed at sharpening the hybrid RIA’s dealmaking and growth strategy.
On Thursday, the Las Vegas-based LPL OSJ announced that Ehrlich will oversee the firm’s finance function while leading corporate development efforts spanning mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships and capital planning.
He will also sit on the firm’s leadership committee, working with founder and chief executive Jimmy Lee and president Andy Kalbaugh on long-term strategy.
Ehrlich has spent more than 15 years as an investment professional focused on financial services and wealth management. Most recently, he was managing director and head of investments at Emigrant Partners, where he led investments in wealth firms.
Earlier in his career, he held principal and senior principal positions at private equity firms Lightyear Capital, Onex, and TowerBrook Capital Partners, all private equity shops with a concentration on financial services and wealth management businesses,
Ehrlich is not a newcomer to Wealth Consulting Group. He has advised the firm for several years and joined its advisory board as a director in July, part of a three-member group that also includes former Envestnet executive Stuart DePina and Simplify Asset Management co-founder Paul Kim. Lee said at the time that the board’s experience would guide the firm’s effort to “prioritize advisor independence” and “support seamless business transitions” as it pursues both organic and M&A-driven expansion.
In announcing Ehrlich’s new role, Lee said he was “thrilled that Jason agreed to increase his involvement” with the firm and credited him with helping to shape several initiatives that are “driving our success.” He added that in the dual role, Ehrlich will work with existing teams to “accelerate both the organic and inorganic growth of our firm.”
Ehrlich said he has had “a front row seat to the evolution of the firm” and plans to work closely with advisors to support “accelerated growth” while bringing his M&A experience to bear. He noted that many mid-size firms are “struggling to achieve scale,” while he views Wealth Consulting Group as “well-positioned to provide the tools, technology, and support that advisors need to deliver the best outcomes for their clients.”
The appointment comes months after Wealth Consulting Group named former LPL divisional president Kalbaugh as its president, another signal that the firm is leaning into industry consolidation. Kalbaugh said Ehrlich is “the right person at the right time” and that his experience will be critical as the hybrid RIA looks to expand and “build new strategic partnerships across the wealth management space.”
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