Michael Liersch

Chief Planning Officer

Michael Liersch joined Edelman Financial Engines in August 2025 as Chief Planning Officer. He leads the firm’s strategic agenda around financial planning, advice, and solutions. With a distinguished career spanning academia and financial services, Michael brings deep expertise in behavioral finance and wealth planning.

Before joining EFE, Michael served as head of Advice & Planning at Wells Fargo, where he was responsible for developing and propagating innovative, research-based methods to enable clients of all wealth segments to make more of their money. Prior to Wells Fargo, he held other leadership positions including the head of Wealth Planning and Advice at J.P. Morgan Chase, and head of Behavioral Finance at both Merrill Lynch and Barclays Americas. Earlier in his career, Michael was a visiting professor at New York University, where he conducted original research and taught management and organizational analysis.

Michael is published in leading academic journals, a frequent media contributor and known for integrating behavioral insights into financial strategy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and a PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of California, San Diego.