Edelman Financial Engines Acquires PRW Wealth Management
The firm is looking to sync its growing wealth management footprint to retirement managed account offerings, according to its CFO.
Edelman Financial Engines LLC on Thursday announced the acquisition of PRW Wealth Management LLC, a registered investment adviser headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.
PRW manages more than $500 million in assets under management for approximately 200 clients, including individuals, families, endowments and foundations, and business owners. The firm provides a range of wealth management capabilities, focusing on strategic planning, investment management and wealth transfer, according to the announcement.
PRW is the fifth acquisition made by Edelman in the past 13 months, continuing the expansion of the firm’s wealth planning capabilities across key regions nationwide. As a leader in retirement plan managed account offerings, Edelman’s Suzanne van Staveren, executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, believes more employers are seeing the need to help employees, both within and beyond their 401(k) account.
“Our managed accounts have been available in the workplace for nearly 20 years, and we have continued to expand the offering to help with retirement income and planning,” she wrote in an email. “More employers are recognizing the need for holistic, comprehensive financial planning and investment advice, especially for employees who have more complex needs and who are increasingly looking to their employers for this support. With our industry-leading network of retail financial planning and wealth management professionals, Edelman Financial Engines is uniquely positioned to provide this help.”
Edelman offers an in-plan experience, its planners are free of product conflict and the firm can manage both qualified and nonqualified assets, something few IRAs can do, according to Staveren. This is especially relevant as many employers seek to retain assets in plan.
“Depending on the client’s preference, we can help manage those assets in the plan or through a rollover,” she said. “With our wide range of services, we can help employees who prefer tools like online advice all the way to holistic discretionary financial help with a dedicated adviser.”
The PRW transaction follows Edelman’s acquisitions of Align Wealth Management (2023), Erman Retirement Advisory (2022), Herrmann & Cooke (2022), Smart Investor (2022) and Viridian Advisors (2021).
“We work with some of the largest employers in the country who have a nationwide footprint,” said Staveren. “Our recent acquisitions have been in markets where we also see significant overlap with retirement plan participants, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, California and now in the greater Boston area.”
Growth through acquisition remains a key area of focus for Edelman, and the firm expects activity will increase in the coming quarters as it continues conversations with partners, according to a company statement.
“Joining Edelman Financial Engines provides us with a depth of additional resources and the ability to maintain the feeling of a multi-family office,” said Rick Renwick, co-founder of PRW, in a statement. “We look forward to delivering cost-effective and tax-efficient customized portfolios built upon the investment philosophy of Nobel Prize-winner and Edelman Financial Engines co-founder Dr. William F. Sharpe.”
Baker & McKenzie LLP and K&L Gates LLP served as Edelman’s counsel in connection with the transaction. Ballard Spahr LLP served as PRW’s counsel.