Edelman Financial Engines, one of the largest RIAs, announced on Wednesday that it has tapped Neil Gilfedder as its next chief investment officer and new executive vice-president. Gilfedder started in his new role on March 1, replacing longtime CIO Christopher Jones.
Jones joined Edelman in 1996 as Edelman’s third employee and in 2001 was appointed CIO. During Jones’ 26-year tenure, Edelman’s assets under management grew to more than $242 billion. The company now employs more than 340 financial advisors.
Jones will remain at the company as a special advisor.
His replacement, Gilfedder, is an internal hire who joined the Boston-based company in 2014. Gilfedder previously served as Edelman’s senior vice president of portfolio management, where he led the team that was responsible for the operations and quality control of Edelman’s 1.3 million client portfolios across the company’s wealth planning and workplace businesses. Gilfedder, who is based in Santa Clara, California, will report to Larry Raffone, Edelman’s president and chief executive officer.
“Neil’s experience, deep institutional knowledge and commitment to our clients positioned him as the natural successor to lead our investment management function,” Raffone said in a statement. “Chris Jones and our co-founder and Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe created a strong foundation for our investment methodology that has helped countless families achieve their financial objectives for nearly three decades, and Neil will now take our investment management expertise into our next phase of growth.”
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Gilfedder told RIA Intel in an email that his first priority as CIO is guiding the company’s clients through the uncertain market enviornment and helping them understand the impact on their portfolios.
In addition to his other roles, Gilfedder will also serve as the chairman of the firm’s investment committee.
Over the past couple of years, Edelman has announced a number of changes to its executive leadership. Last year, Suzanne van Staveren joined the firm as executive vice president and chief financial officer, and in July 2022 Edelman announced that it had promoted Tom Kimberly to executive vice president and chief product and technology officer.
“I joined Edelman Financial Engines in 2014, and I am already deeply embedded in our culture and investment philosophies as well as our relationships with key partners. My previous experience here has set me up well to build upon an impressive legacy,” Gilfedder said. “It is a firm with an incredible legacy, of which Christopher Jones played a key part in building. It’s an honor to take on this role, and I’m very excited about the path forward.”
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