• In the 1980s, he pioneered the then-controversial position that consumers should carry a big, 30-year mortgage instead of paying it off. • In the 1990s, Ric invented the Retirement Income – for Everyone Trust®, a retirement savings tool for children that was awarded two patents. More than 4,000 children are now beneficiaries of RIC-E Trusts.® • In the 2000s, Ric was one of industry's early adaptors to the fee-based, passive investment model using exchange-traded funds, resulting in the launch of the Edelman Managed Asset Program in 2005. Through EMAP, clients receive a globally diversified portfolio, with management based on
Modern Portfolio Theory, behavioral finance and neuroeconomics. Today, EMAP is one of the largest turnkey asset management programs in the industry. • In the 2010s, Ric introduced the industry to exponential technologies, which are fast transforming virtually every aspect of our planet. A 2012 graduate of the Executive Program at Singularity University (where he was subsequently invited to be a guest lecturer and investor), Ric helped bring the Exponential Finance Conference to Manhattan, introducing Wall Street to these world-changing technologies. After determining that there is no investment product targeting exponential technologies available to retail investors, Ric asked BlackRock to create an ETF, which it did in partnership with Morningstar (who created the underlying index). The iShares Exponential Technologies ETF(ticker: XT) launched in March 2015 and became the #2 most successful ETF launch of the year, according to Morningstar; the fund was nominated for Best New ETF of the Year and Most Innovative ETF. • 2012: Founded the nonprofit Funding Our Future Coalition. 75+ academic, non-profit and think-tank members work with Congress to help Americans achieve financial security. • 2015: Founded Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals to advance advisors’ crypto knowledge. Created Certificate in Blockchain and Digital Assets, attained by thousands of advisors in 37 countries. • 2025: Founded the nonprofit Personal Finance Institute, which chronicles the history of the asset and wealth management industries and offers financial literacy and education programs for the public. ==Philanthropy==