Financial Engines, Edelman Complete Merger

Michael Kitces, author of the Nerd's Eye View blog, said in a Twitter post when the deal was announced that the move was "a huge win" for both firms.

"Simply put, for Financial Engines, this is about deepening their bench of HUMAN advisors, affirming they're seeing positive results with humans from [the Mutual Fund] Store. For Edelman, it's a massive 'distribution' opportunity to bring their [financial planning] advice to more consumers [without] relying on Ric," Kitces explained on Twitter.

Financial Engines President and CEO Larry Raffone is set to become president, CEO and board member of the combined company, while Ric Edelman — Edelman's chairman and co-founder — will serve as a board member and chairman of Financial and Investor Education for the new entity.

Financial Engines has some $169 billion in assets under management and works with some 750 employers to deliver digital-based retirement planning and related services for over $1.2 trillion in assets under contract; it bought the Mutual Fund Store, which included about 350 employees and advisors, for about $560 million in late 2015.

Edelman has some $22 billion in assets and does advisor-based financial planning.

— Check out Financial Engines-Edelman Deal: Where Are the Synergies? on ThinkAdvisor.