Edelman Financial Engines taps OneTrust alum as first retirement advisory chief

Edelman Financial Engines has named Christian Mango as senior vice president and retirement advisory practice leader, tapping a nearly 30-year veteran of the retirement plan business to scale one of the firm's most closely watched growth bets.

The newly created role announced Tuesday puts Mango in charge of growing Edelman's Retirement Plan Services business through acquisitions, advisor recruitment and organic growth, while tightening the link between workplace retirement plans and individual financial planning.

Retirement plan advisory is not new territory for Edelman. The business traces back to Financial Engines, founded in 1996 by Nobel laureate economist William Sharpe specifically to help workers manage 401(k) plans, and it has operated under the Edelman name since the 2018 merger with Edelman Financial Services.

Mango arrives from OneDigital, where he most recently served as senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions, helping steer dealmaking for the insurance broker's retirement plan advisory and work-to-wealth businesses. Before that, he ran the Retirement Plan Services division at Alera Group as executive vice president and national practice leader, a stint credited with turning that unit into a nationally recognized retirement plan advisory platform.

His arrival lands squarely in the middle of a trend independent-minded advisors have watched play out for years: insurance brokers and RIA aggregators buying their way into retirement plan advisory work. OneDigital itself built much of its retirement business through acquisition, breaking into the retrement plan business with its 2020 acquisiton of $45 billion RIA Resources and some of its affiliates.

Read more: OneDigital continues acquisition tear with purchase of $6B plan adviser

Building the workplace-to-wealth pipeline

For Edelman, the hire helps flesh out a broader thesis it has been building for more than a year: that a 401(k) participant today can become a full financial planning client tomorrow.

"For millions of Americans, their financial journey begins in the workplace," said president and CEO Ralph Haberli. "Retirement Plan Services is an important extension of our mission – helping employers deliver exceptional retirement programs while creating more pathways for individuals to engage with fiduciary advice throughout their financial lives."

Read more: Americans want a different kind of retirement — and they’re willing to pay for time and health

Haberli added that Mango "has built and scaled retirement businesses throughout his career," and that his relationships across the industry would help Edelman build "one of the country's leading retirement advisory platforms."

The Santa Clara, California-based firm manages roughly $308 billion in client assets across 1.3 million clients and more than 430 advisors. As of June 2025, it reportedly provided 401(k) advice to more than 10 million employees and partners with over 600 large employers.

A leadership team taking shape

Mango's hire is the latest in a string of senior appointments at Edelman since Haberli took over as acting CEO in October last year, following Jay Shah's decision to step down after two years running the firm. Haberli, who had joined a few months prior as president after leading the Institutional and Retirement Client Group at Capital Group, was elevated to the top job as Edelman Financial Engines works to reshape its executive bench under owners Hellman & Friedman and Warburg Pincus.

In May, Edelman announced its hiring of chief financial officer Steve Gaven from SageView Advisory, alongside three newly appointed senior vice presidents focused on wealth clients, planner growth and wealth strategy.

Industry observers have noted that Edelman's private equity backers have pushed for faster organic growth after the firm pulled back from a reported $8 billion sale process last fall.