Edmund F. Murphy III
President and Chief Executive Officer
Edmund F. Murphy III is President and Chief Executive Officer of Empower, a leading provider of financial services for consumers that include retirement services, wealth management, advice, and asset management. He also serves as a Board Member of Empower Life & Annuity Insurance Company and as a Strategic Advisor to Diagram Ventures.1
Ed brings decades of broad leadership experience to his role. He was appointed as the inaugural President of Empower upon its formation in 2014 and has led the organization through a period of strong and sustained growth, positioning the firm as the go-to provider of financial services for more than 18 million investors.2
Under his leadership, Empower has grown into a national leader serving working Americans through all sectors of the U.S. economy and across the spectrum of wealth segments. Empower has completed several strategic acquisitions, including the retirement businesses of J.P. Morgan, Prudential, MassMutual, Truist Bank, and Fifth Third Bank. In 2020, Empower acquired Personal Capital, a registered investment adviser and wealth manager. Empower has assets under administration of more than $1.4 trillion and serves some 82,000 corporate, government, and not-for-profit plans.2
A much sought-after thought leader as an advocate for investors and the defined contribution system, Ed is regarded as a driving force for industry innovation and public policy reform. He meets regularly with policymakers in Washington, D.C., and has testified before Congress, the Department of Labor, the Treasury Department, and the IRS.
Ed speaks and writes about financial topics ranging from retirement issues and public policy to investment advice and lifetime income strategies. He has been interviewed by CNBC, Bloomberg News, “MarketWatch,” “The Wall Street Journal,” “Barron’s,” “The Financial Times,” and many other media outlets.
Under Ed’s leadership, Empower has earned multiple industry accolades. In 2020 and 2016, the firm was named Retirement Leader of the Year by Financial Advisor, and it is regularly recognized for outstanding client service, innovative product solutions, and pioneering work with financial intermediaries.
Empower employs more than 12,000 associates and has been recognized for its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and community service. Ed is a founding member of Inclusive Economy, a movement focused on driving diversity, equity, and inclusion across the Colorado business community, and is a signatory to A Day for Democracy, a national effort to support voting rights. “The Denver Business Journal” named him a Most Admired CEO in 2020.
Before his appointment as CEO of Empower, Ed served as Managing Director at Putnam Investments and was a member of the firm’s operating committee. Prior to Putnam, he held executive leadership roles at Fidelity Investments in its institutional, private equity, and retail businesses. During his time at Fidelity, he served as CEO of Veritude, LLC and as a board member of several Fidelity-owned companies. He spent the early portion of his career at Merrill Lynch.
Ed is a board member of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, Boston College Wall Street Council, Colorado Inclusive Economy, and the American Enterprise Institute National Council and a member of The Wall Street Journal CEO Council. He is active in supporting numerous not-for-profit, educational, and charitable causes, including service to Boston College through the Board of Regents, the board of Cristo Rey High School in Boston, and as a board member of The Ireland Funds and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Ed is a former board member of the New England Council and a past Trustee of Emmanuel College in Boston.
Ed holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and is a graduate of the General Manager Program at Harvard Business School.