Edelman Financial Engines Announces Neil Gilfedder as CIO

Neil Gilfedder

Edelman Financial Engines has promoted Neil Gilfedder to CIO and executive vice president, effective March 1, the company announced in a press release.

In the new role, Gilfedder reports to Larry Raffone, Edelman Financial’s president and CEO, and Gilfedder will serve as the chairman of the firm’s investment committee, according to the release.

Gilfedder was promoted “now [to] take our investment management expertise into our next phase of growth,” Raffone stated in the release.

Edelman promoted internally for the role to maintain continuity for clients, planners and employees, a spokesperson added by email.

“Neil’s experience, deep institutional knowledge and commitment to our clients positioned him as the natural successor to lead our investment management function,” Raffone stated.

Gilfedder was previously a senior vice president for portfolio management and managed the team responsible for operations and quality control of client portfolios across the company’s wealth planning and workplace businesses, representing more than 1.3 million clients and $242 billion in assets, according to the release.

“In the current volatile macroenvironment, we play a vital role in helping our clients align their investment and planning strategy to meet their goals,” Gilfedder said by email. “My priority right now is on guiding our clients through these uncertain times and helping them understand what is going on and the impact on their portfolio.”

Gilfedder has been at Edelman since 2014, according to the company, and he said he plans to focus on continued growth.

“We have seen the value and peace of mind that a [financial] planner can provide clients, especially in uncertain times,” he said. “We continue to expand the financial wellness offering we bring to employees in the workplace—to support them from their first paycheck up to and through retirement. For our wealth planning clients, we continue to grow our planner network nationwide and enhance our financial planning services with new capabilities like tax and estate planning to support clients with more complicated needs.”

Promoting Gilfedder advances the succession plan at Edelman—he succeeds Chris Jones, who had served as the CIO since 2001, according to the release. Jones is transitioning to a special adviser role with the firm.