Ric Edelman
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.
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Edelman 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 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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Melanie Waddell
Melanie is senior editor and Washington bureau chief of ThinkAdvisor. Her ThinkAdvisor coverage zeros in on how politics, policy, legislation and regulations affect the investment advisory space. Melanie’s coverage has been cited in various lawmakers’ reports, letters and bills, and in the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule in 2024. In 2019, Melanie received an Honorable Mention, Range of Work by a Single Author award from @Folio. Melanie joined Investment Advisor magazine as New York bureau chief in 2000. She has been a columnist since 2002. She started her career in Washington in 1994, covering financial issues at American Banker. Since 1997, Melanie has been covering investment-related issues, holding senior editorial positions at American Banker publications in both Washington and New York. Briefly, she was content chief for Internet Capital Group’s EFinancialWorld in New York and wrote freelance articles for Institutional Investor. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University. She interned at The Baltimore Sun and its suburban edition.
