S.F. Ehrlich Associates

S.F. Ehrlich Associates

S.F. Ehrlich Associates opened in 1996 as an independent financial planning and investment management firm. The practice operates from a single location in Cranford, New Jersey, where it structures itself explicitly as fee-only — accepting no commissions, referral fees, or third-party compensation. This operational model aligns the firm's incentives entirely with the clients it serves, a posture reinforced by its membership in the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and its approved-advisor relationship with Dimensional Fund Advisors. The firm's website identifies two professionals: Stanley F. Ehrlich, the founder, and John Zeltmann. The firm's investment approach centers on passive management, leveraging the DFA family of mutual funds. Client capital is deployed through a blend of financial planning and portfolio management services, addressing goals such as retirement security, education financing, and broad wealth preservation. The firm's documented client base spans individuals, high-net-worth individuals, trusts, and estates. S.F. Ehrlich does not publish a track record of direct deal-making, co-investments, or private market activity; its public materials focus exclusively on liquid, publicly traded securities accessed via these passive mutual fund vehicles. The practice maintains a deliberately lean profile, listing a single office address and two points of contact. No team headcount, total assets under management, or aggregate deployment figures are publicly disclosed. The firm has no visible adjacent vehicles — no philanthropic foundation, real-asset arm, or operating business tied to the RIA. Its public communications consist primarily of a blog featuring commentary on market topics and personal finance, with posts such as 'Stan's World - Spring Cleaning' and 'Fun With Charts!' suggesting a direct, client-education-oriented editorial voice. Structurally, S.F. Ehrlich Associates operates as a pure RIA, differentiating itself through its strict fee-only status and narrow vendor alignment with DFA — a construct that bakes in product-access discipline from the outset. The practice's concentration in two named professionals and its absence of published growth metrics signal a stewardship model built around relationship continuity rather than institutional scale. Without disclosed succession details, the firm's architecture rests on the enduring personal practices of its principals and the operational simplicity of a single-office, single-strategy advisory.