Office address: 3315 Scott Blvd, 4th Floor, Santa Clara, CA 95054
Website: edelmanfinancialengines.com
Year established: 1986
Company type: financial services
Employees: 1,600+
Expertise: financial planning, retirement planning, investment management, insurance guidance, tax planning, estate planning, wealth management, 401(k) provision, workplace financial wellness, retirement income solutions, portfolio optimization
Parent company: Hellman & Friedman
Key people: Ralph Haberli (CEO), Suzanne van Staveren (CFO), Michael Liersch (chief planning officer), Megan Hanley (CMO), Neil Gilfedder (CIO), Allison Amadia (chief legal and risk officer), Amin Dabit (head of wealth planning)
Financing status: private equity-backed
Edelman Financial Engines (EFE) is a wealth planning firm based in Santa Clara. It serves over 1.3 million clients and managed $308 billion as of June 2025. It delivers retirement, tax, investment, and estate planning through a network of 140 offices.
Ric and Jean Edelman co-founded their advisory firm Edelman Financial Services in 1986 to serve everyday investors. Charting a separate course, Nobel Prize-winning economist William Sharpe co-founded Financial Engines in 1996. He aimed to help workers manage 401(k) plans as companies shifted away from traditional pensions.
The two businesses eventually merged in 2018 to create Edelman Financial Engines. The rise of the internet in Silicon Valley also helped these founders reach more people.
But before this major union, Financial Engines bought The Mutual Fund Store in 2016 to expand its capabilities. Hellman & Friedman, a private equity firm, then acquired the company and merged it with Edelman Financial Services in 2018. This union created a unified infrastructure that combined high-tech tools with personal financial planning.
A few years later, EFE added Viridian Advisors, Smart Investor, and other partners to grow its reach. The organization welcomed Cahill Wealth Management into its network during the early months of 2025.
Later that year, Edelman Financial Engines acquired Hasenberg Financial Group to further expand its national footprint. These additions marked a continued effort to strengthen the firm's service capabilities for the future.
EFE combines human advice with patented technology to build personalized wealth plans. Its advisors use institutional-grade modeling tools to help individuals reach their financial goals:
The firm models thousands of securities to simulate potential outcomes for portfolios. Advisors at Edelman Financial Engines also provide support for every life stage from first paychecks to legacy planning.
Edelman Financial Engines states its purpose is helping people thrive. The firm reports that it uses collaboration, not competition, in its work culture. According to the company, four core values guide its culture:
Edelman Financial Engines also uses a market-based pay structure. Salaries depend on experience, skills, and geographic location. Eligible employees may also receive these additional benefits:
Along with these benefits, employees may participate in an inclusive environment. EFE supports diverse perspectives through resource groups like BEACON, Women in Leadership, and ENABLED.
Ralph Haberli has served as the president and CEO of Edelman Financial Engines since November 2025. He previously led the institutional and retirement client group as president at Capital Group. Haberli holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a history degree from Yale University.
The following key executives help Haberli lead Edelman Financial Engines:
The leadership team aims to improve every client's financial journey. Everyone at the firm works to help investors build wealth.
When Edelman Financial Engines appointed Michael Liersch as its first chief planning officer, it sharpened its focus on delivering unified financial advice. The firm tasked him with merging planning strategies, educational resources, and personalized guidance for all clients. This move shows EFE's commitment to creating future-ready solutions that integrate technology with human insight.
The company has seen other major leadership changes as it shifts its focus toward sustainable, organic growth. The firm eventually appointed Ralph Haberli as CEO in November 2025 to steer this strategy after its private equity owners halted potential sale efforts.
Management aims to leverage its managed account leadership to expand access to advice through new digital tools. An initial public offering remains a possible path for Edelman Financial Engines to create liquidity for its investors.
Lifetime Achievement Award winner Eddie Brown recalled starting at T. Rowe Price in 1973 as the stock market went 'straight downhill.' Compared to that, the current market is 'a piece of cake,' he said.
Suzanne van Staveren will work on Edelman Financial Engines’ long-term growth strategy and financial objectives.
In addition to a recent deal with Carson Group in October, other partnerships with Orion Advisor Solutions and Advyzon have proved successful for the company, which claims to have grown 300% in the past three years.
Evolving technology, increasing longevity and cryptocurrencies will all play a role in the future of advice, according to seven experts from across the wealth management industry.
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Employees of select large client plans can use an array of tools and speak with an adviser.
Financial planning icon Ric Edelman, who created Edelman Financial Services in 1987 and merged it with Financial Engines in 2018 to create the mammoth Edelman Financial Engines, joins the podcast to share his plans now that he’s stepped down from daily duties at his namesake firm.
Together, DACFP and InvestmentNews will be providing subscribers with content and educational opportunities to increase your knowledge about blockchain and digital assets, and access to the product and service providers in that ecosystem, so you can give investors the advice, products and services they need.
Edelman will stay on as a strategic adviser, a board member and the firm’s largest individual shareholder. Currently, he serves as the firm's chairman of financial education and client experience.
Advisory firms are moving to adopt AI tools to achieve their growth objectives, but it’s not easy, partly because firms lack the data connectivity that’s needed for AI to operate efficiently.
Viridian Advisors, an $846 million RIA, will bring CPAs and tax expertise to Edelman.
Hype from retail and institutional investors on digital assets isn’t enough to sway skeptical advisers who are weighing the risk and reward of crypto before adding the asset class to clients' portfolios.
People who self-directed their investments shifted to more conservative allocations, with an average decrease in equities by 17 percentage points during the first quarter of 2020.
