Echelon Financial Available

Echelon Financial operates as an independent, fee-only fiduciary registered investment advisory firm in Austin, concentrating on integrated wealth management, multi-entity tax structuring, and business exit planning. Co-founded in 2013 by Chris Wilbratte and CPA Jim Morano, the firm runs on a Personal CFO framework that bridges portfolio management directly with active accounting services through Osborn Morano CPAs. Rather than separating year-end tax compliance from routine investment management, the practice builds financial architectures tailored specifically to business owners, 1099 professionals, and families holding between $2 million and $30 million in investable assets.

The diagnostic workflow begins with quantitative asset auditing and corporate cash flow mapping. Because closely held entities present distinct risks—including uneven revenue distributions, illiquidity, and multi-tier tax exposures—the firm's analytical approach treats personal balance sheets with corporate rigor. Trading operations and portfolio construction, led by dedicated investment specialists and CFA credentialing, utilize tax-aware balancing between active and passive strategies, asset location optimization across qualified and taxable accounts, and systematic rebalancing. Concurrently, tax professionals run year-round projections rather than reactive seasonal reviews, assessing Roth conversions, entity classifications, Section 1202 qualified small business stock exemptions, and distributions against fluctuating federal brackets.

When addressing succession planning or liquidity events, the diagnostic scope broadens into formal exit planning and asset protection. Complex enterprise sales require coordinated execution among legal counsel, valuation experts, and tax preparers well before an offer sheet is finalized. The advisory team audits buy-sell agreements, evaluates insurance coverage gaps, models pre-transaction estate transfer vehicles, and constructs post-sale cash flow runways. To maintain institutional oversight across every account without diluting technical rigor, the practice limits its active client roster to a maximum of 100 families, avoiding the high client-to-advisor ratios customary in conventional brokerage environments.

Prospective client evaluations begin with a direct thirty-minute introductory discussion to determine baseline fit and financial complexity. Engagements entering full onboarding undergo a comprehensive four- to six-week discovery phase involving entity return reviews, prior year personal tax assessments, corporate operating agreements, and complete brokerage audit schedules. Prospective clients preparing for this initial assessment should compile their most recent three years of tax returns, detailed balance sheets of both personal assets and active operating companies, and existing estate documents before the opening discovery session.