Ric Edelman to Step Down From Role at Edelman Financial Engines
He will transition to the role of strategic advisor to the firm.
Ric Edelman will transition by year-end from his role as chairman of financial education and client experience at Edelman Financial Engines to serve next year as strategic advisor to the firm while remaining on the board of directors. He also continues to be the firm’s largest individual shareholder.
Edelman founded Edelman Financial Services with his wife, Jean, in 1986.
Edelman, a ThinkAdvisor contributor, is also founder of the RIA Digital Assets Council and creator of the Certificate in Blockchain and Digital Assets.
“Jean and I have decided the time is right for us to start our next chapter,” Edelman said in a statement shared with ThinkAdvisor Monday. “With a team of talented and dedicated planners and staff, and an experienced and capable management team, we are confident in the firm’s future. We are grateful to our friends, colleagues and, most importantly, to our clients for their faith in us. And we are excited about our new ventures — including RIADAC.”
In 2018, Edelman Financial Services merged with Financial Engines to create the nation’s largest independent financial planning and investment management firm.
The company “has completed its integration, successfully navigated the pandemic and grown to serve 1.3 million clients, managing $270 billion in client assets,” the firm said in a statement.
In March, the firm announced a strategic investment from Warburg Pincus, who joins lead investor Hellman & Friedman to power the firm’s next stage of growth.
“We believe every person deserves to achieve financial security, and nobody has done more to advance that mission than Ric and Jean Edelman,” said Larry Raffone, president and CEO of Edelman Financial Engines in the statement. “Ric and Jean have our deepest gratitude and support as they embark on this next chapter, and I look forward to Ric’s continued contributions to our clients and our industry.”
Edelman Financial Engines has begun efforts to identify a new host for its weekly radio show, with final episode under The Ric Edelman Show moniker airing this fall.
“Ric will appear occasionally on the new program,” Edelman Financial Engines said. “He’ll also periodically write a column for the firm’s new client newsletter and attend client events.”
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