Financial Engines had a Nobel Prize winner among its founders, and it sold his kind of finance to people saving in a 401(k). Workers got advice on how to invest their retirement money. For a fee, the company would manage those accounts for them. It sold through employers and plan providers instead of directly to the public. When it filed in early 2010, the crisis had just wiped out much of many workers' savings.

Portfolio Theory for Everyone

William Sharpe won the Nobel Prize in economics in 1990. In 1996 he co-founded the company with securities law professor Joseph Grundfest and venture capitalist Craig Johnson. Their bet was that rigorous portfolio models could reach millions of ordinary savers cheaply over the internet. Then Congress opened the door wider. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 encouraged automatic advice in retirement plans.

First Out After the Crash

Financial Engines priced its IPO at $12 a share in March 2010. It was one of the first technology offerings after the crisis, and the stock rose sharply on its first day. Assets under its management grew for years. In 2018 Hellman & Friedman bought the company for about $3 billion and merged it with Edelman Financial. The combined firm paired online advice for workplace savers with in-person planning for wealthier clients.

Cover: Untitled (Model of Brookline Steam Engine), Unknown artist. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a model steam engine (a steady engine).