In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong speaks with Ralph Haberli, CEO of Edelman Financial Engines, about how the firm connects workplace retirement relationships with broader wealth planning and continues to grow at scale.

Ralph shares how retirement plan participants can develop into long-term planning clients, why the firm has made planner ownership a priority, and how recruiting and M&A fit into its growth strategy. He also explains how Edelman Financial Engines is using technology and AI to support planners, while keeping client relationships and human advice at the center of the business.

Ralph discusses:

• How the firm is bridging the gap between workplace retirement plans and individual wealth management services, and why he thinks there is still plenty of opportunity in the convergence of the two.
• His perspective on growth and scale, and how planner equity plays an important role when balancing a consistent service experience with an entrepreneurial culture.
• Where Edelman Financial Engines sees its next phase of growth
• What the firm is doing with AI and technology, particularly in filling the advice gaps that leave some mass-affluent investors underserved.

Resources:

• Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on Wealth Management
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify

Connect With David Armstrong:

• Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong
• Twitter: David Armstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Ralph Haberli:

• LinkedIn: Ralph Haberli
• LinkedIn: Edelman Financial Engines
• Website: Edelman Financial Engines

About Our Guest:

As Chief Executive Officer and President, Ralph Haberli is shaping Edelman Financial Engines’ long-term vision and growth strategy, with a commitment to making financial advice more accessible, personal, and impactful for individuals at every stage of their financial journey. He joined EFE as President in July 2025 and was appointed CEO in November 2025.

Before joining EFE, Ralph served as President of the Institutional & Retirement Client Group at Capital Group, where he led a period of significant growth, overseeing the implementation of an expansive set of new and improved client-facing products and solutions. Previously, he held senior roles at BlackRock across various client businesses, iShares, and Corporate Strategy. He began his career at Boston Consulting Group advising top financial institutions in the U.S and Europe.

He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong speaks with Kristen Bauer, CEO of Laird Norton Wetherby, about the firm’s approach to serving multigenerational families while managing about $18 billion in assets across six offices and two trust companies.

Kristen explains how the firm evaluates growth based on its impact on clients, employees and owners, rather than pursuing scale alone. She also shares how trust services, impact investing, advisor development, employee ownership and artificial intelligence continue to shape LNW’s long-term direction.

Kristen discusses:

• How Bauer measures growth and its impact on the firm and client service
• Why the firm moved back to using an in-house trust company, after outsourcing for many years
• How the business development process works when targeting prospects with multigenerational wealth
• The qualities LNW looks for when hiring advisors serving families across generations
• How the firm is thinking about artificial intelligence and its impact on the business

Resources:

• Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on Wealth Management
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify

Connect With David Armstrong:

• Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong
• Twitter: David Armstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Kristen Bauer:

• LinkedIn: Kristen Bauer
• LinkedIn: Laird Norton Wetherby
• Website: Laird Norton Wetherby

About Our Guest:

Kristen Bauer is the CEO of LNW, leading by example of analytical rigor and a passion for helping successful individuals and families use their resources to have the greatest positive impact. With more than two decades of leadership experience in private wealth management, family office services and business operations, Kristen was instrumental in shaping the vision for, and structure of, what is now LNW.

In May 2020, Kristen was named CEO of Laird Norton Wealth Management. In the next three years, she led the firm as it joined forces with two like-minded wealth advisories long committed to fostering clients’ financial and personal well-being above all else (Filament LLC and Wetherby Asset Management). The result is LNW.

Prior to LNW, Kristen was a senior leader at Tiedemann Advisors serving as Managing Director for the Pacific Northwest and leading Tiedemann’s national family office practice. Previously, Kristen served in leadership roles, including CFO and President, at Threshold Group, which began as the family office for a prominent Northwest family and was acquired by Tiedemann in 2017. At the start of her career, Kristen was Director of Finance at Medalia Healthcare and Manager-Assurance at Arthur Andersen LLP.

Kristen’s upbringing in Bend, Oregon instilled in her a deep appreciation for nature and the importance of working to leave a healthy world for generations to come. She is actively involved in supporting environmental nonprofits and causes.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong speaks with Gregg George, founder and managing director of Crescent Grove Advisors, about how the firm grew to approximately $6 billion without acquisitions, outside investors or debt.

Gregg shares how the firm builds relationships with executives and business owners before major liquidity events, maintains a low advisor-to-client ratio and develops a talent pipeline internally. He also explains how Crescent Grove protects its culture, expands family-office-style services, and uses technology and AI to improve operations while keeping advisors at the center of the client relationship.

Gregg discusses

• The organic growth drivers that have worked for their firm—and the ones that haven’t.
• How the advisors prioritize the future value of a prospect over the immediate assets they bring into the firm
• How he thinks about client-to-advisor ratios and ensuring growth doesn’t outpace capacity.
• Why the firm prefers a single point of contact for clients over a team-based approach.
• Avoiding the culture clash that can come with pursuing outside investment and acquisitions.

Resources:

• Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on Wealth Management
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify

Connect With David Armstrong:

• Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong
• Twitter: David Armstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Gregg George:

• LinkedIn: Gregg George
• LinkedIn: Crescent Grove Advisors
• Website: Crescent Grove Advisors

About Our Guest:

As a Founder and Managing Director of Crescent Grove Advisors, Gregg George specializes in working with C-suite executives, entrepreneurs and business owners to coordinate the development and implementation of highly customized financial offerings. In so doing, he advises clients and their families on all aspects of their financial lives in an independent and unbiased manner.

Prior to co-founding Crescent Grove Advisors, Gregg was the Managing Director and a Senior Client Advisor at Cedar Street Advisors, a boutique wealth management organization catering to highly affluent clients. Before this, Gregg was an Account Manager with a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, where he was responsible for advising C-suite executives on their personal financial affairs.

Raised in New York, Gregg is currently licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and Illinois. He received a Master of Law (LL.M) degree in Taxation from Boston University School of Law, a J.D. degree from DePaul University College of Law and a BS in Political Science from Boston College. Gregg is the President of a 501(c)(3) Donor Advised Fund and has served as Chairman of Best Buddies Wisconsin, a not-for profit. He is also a Registered Representative of The Leader’s Group, Member FINRA/SIPC. Gregg and his wife, Laura, reside in Kildeer, Illinois, and have four boys. In his spare time, Gregg loves watching his kids play sports and just have fun growing up.