By Andrew Welsch
Edelman Financial Engines has given $175 million worth of equity stakes to all of its approximately 360 financial planners, and the company says it intends to introduce later this year an option for its financial planners to purchase additional equity.
The move may help Edelman attract and retain more financial planners. The Boston-based company serves both individual investors and retirement plans, and is ranked as the No. 2 mega registered investment advisor on Barron's Top 100 RIA Firms for 2025. It serves more than one million clients and oversees more than $326 billion in assets, according to the company.
"Through this $175 million initial investment, we are ensuring that our talented, mission-driven professionals continue to benefit from their hard work and dedication as owners of our business, and we are committed to fostering additional opportunities for planners to build equity in alignment with our future growth and the continued success of our clients," CEO and President Ralph Haberli said in a statement.
Haberli was named acting CEO in October, succeeding then-CEO Jay Shah, who announced he was stepping down at the end of 2025. Haberli joined Edelman in July from Capital Group, where he served as president of the asset manager's Institutional & Retirement Client Group.
Edelman's majority owner is private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman. In 2021, Warburg Pincus bought a minority stake in Edelman. Blake Kleinman, a partner at Hellman & Friedman, said giving planners equity stakes will foster a great environment for employees and clients. "We want all of our planners to be shareholders, and the power of ownership will make a career at EFE even more fulfilling and rewarding than ever," Kleinman said.
A spokeswoman for Edelman didn't respond to a question about what percentage of the company that employees now own.
Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 13:48 ET (17:48 GMT)
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