Edelman Financial Engines acquires $425M RIA

A 30-year-old registered investment advisory firm with three financial planners and two other employees joined Edelman Financial Engines in the company's fourth acquisition of the past 12 months.

Align Wealth Management, a fee-only RIA based in Oklahoma City with another office in St. Petersburg, Florida, formally merged into Edelman on Oct. 2 with the closing of a deal of undisclosed size, according to Suzanne van Staveren, Edelman's chief financial officer and chief operating officer. The Align team — led by co-founders Brian Puckett and Dennis Packard — manages $425 million on behalf of nearly 360 clients. Boston-based Edelman, which has more than $250 billion in assets from 1.3 million clients across 145 offices, is operating with the backing of private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and Warburg Pincus.

"We are very focused on organic growth, but inorganic growth has really become a key component of our growth strategy," van Staveren said in an interview. Potential geographical factors expanding the firm's footprint and a "planning-first, client-centric type of organization" represent two of the most important factors in how Edelman considers deals, she noted. "In order to integrate successfully, it is really important that the philosophies of the teams that we speak with are aligned with our philosophy."

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In addition to the co-founders, Align's team includes certified financial planner Kevin Brown, Client Services Manager Darlene Eisel and Client Services Associate Debbie Stanley. 

"Joining Edelman Financial Engines will allow our planners to spend more time delivering high-touch services to clients while getting greater support with administrative and time-consuming back-office tasks," Puckett said in a statement. "It also provides growth opportunities for our team to be part of an industry leading firm that has a nationwide footprint yet is much nimbler than the largest shops — a perfect fit for the clients who need our help."

After the high-profile merger of Financial Engines and Edelman Financial Services in 2018 and the departure of onetime chairman of financial education and client experience Ric Edelman two years ago, the firm may be flying under the industry's radar at times, according to John Langston, the managing partner of investment banking firm Republic Capital Group. Warburg recapitalized Edelman, which is an RIA, robo-advisor and 401(k) firm, at a valuation of $7.3 billion in 2021 — more than double its value in the 2018 mega-merger. Langston's firm represented a seller that folded into Edelman last year but wasn't involved in this deal.

"This is not a criticism: They are quietly one of the leaders. I seem to hear about other firms more," Langston said in an interview. "Someone looking for an integrated platform to be part of something larger should definitely have the conversation."

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Van Staveren joined Edelman last year from Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, where she was the CFO as well. In August, former Personal Capital CEO Jay Shah took over the role at Edelman, replacing Larry Raffone as Raffone became chairman of the firm's board. The firm has 730 financial advisors, planners, analysts or associates and 1,500 employees, according to a company factsheet, which noted that the employer retirement plan arm works with 10.4 million participants from 720 sponsors.

The firm also has an M&A team that aims to avoid "creating any disruptions" for incoming advisors and their clients, van Staveren said.

"It's this very tight team that stays involved," she said. "Those people that come into play during due diligence, they continue to stay involved throughout the integration process."