Dave Yeske
Golden Gate University, School of Business, Faculty Member
- Yeske Buie, Managing Director, Faculty Memberadd
- Dr. Dave Yeske, CFP® earned a doctorate in finance at Golden Gate University and an M.A. in Economics and a B.S. in A... moreDr. Dave Yeske, CFP® earned a doctorate in finance at Golden Gate University and an M.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Applied Economics from the University of San Francisco. He has been practicing financial planning since 1990.
Dr. Dave is a past Chair of the Financial Planning Association (US) (FPA) and currently represents FPA in the area of international standards for financial planning. He has been named a top advisor by Bloomberg Wealth Manager.
He has been quoted in national media including The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Newsweek, USA Today, Investors Business Daily, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Journal of Financial Planning. Dave appears regularly on CBS, CNBC, CNN and NBC News.
Dave has written feature articles for Research Magazine, San Francisco Magazine and The Journal of Retirement Planning. He co-authored with Elissa Buie, CFP, “Policy-Based Financial Planning Provides Touchstone in a Turbulent World”, which was published in July 2006 in The Journal of Financial Planning (JFP). A paper describing Dave's doctoral research - "Finding the Planning in Financial Planning" - was published in the September, 2010 issue of the JFP.
Dave holds an appointment as Distinguished Adjunct Professor in Golden Gate University's Ageno School of Business, where he teaches the Practicum in Financial Planning, the capstone financial planning course. Dave served as Chair of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) PAC in 2005 and 2006 and currently chairs FPA's Research Center Team. He is a Mentor for FPA’s Residency Program.(Dr. Dave Yeske, CFP® earned a doctorate in finance at Golden Gate University and an M.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Applied Economics from the University of San Francisco. He has been practicing financial planning since 1990.<br /><br />Dr. Dave is a past Chair of the Financial Planning Association (US) (FPA) and currently represents FPA in the area of international standards for financial planning. He has been named a top advisor by Bloomberg Wealth Manager.<br /><br />He has been quoted in national media including The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Newsweek, USA Today, Investors Business Daily, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Journal of Financial Planning. Dave appears regularly on CBS, CNBC, CNN and NBC News.<br /><br />Dave has written feature articles for Research Magazine, San Francisco Magazine and The Journal of Retirement Planning. He co-authored with Elissa Buie, CFP, “Policy-Based Financial Planning Provides Touchstone in a Turbulent World”, which was published in July 2006 in The Journal of Financial Planning (JFP). A paper describing Dave's doctoral research - "Finding the Planning in Financial Planning" - was published in the September, 2010 issue of the JFP.<br /><br />Dave holds an appointment as Distinguished Adjunct Professor in Golden Gate University's Ageno School of Business, where he teaches the Practicum in Financial Planning, the capstone financial planning course. Dave served as Chair of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) PAC in 2005 and 2006 and currently chairs FPA's Research Center Team. He is a Mentor for FPA’s Residency Program.)edit
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT
Research Interests:
Financial planning policies are compact decision rules that can act as a touchstone to both clients and their advisors and allow for rapid decision making in the face of a changing environment. Good policies represent the distillation of... more
Financial planning policies are compact decision rules that can act as a touchstone to both clients and their advisors and allow for rapid decision making in the face of a changing environment. Good policies represent the distillation of client goals and values, as well as the relevant financial planning best practices, in a form that can both anchor the client to a consistent course of action and save the advisor from the necessity of crunching the numbers every time a question arises. Financial planning policies can be thought of as a form of "choice architecture" designed to neutralize and/or leverage behavioral biases in favor of financial planning best practices. Evidence suggests that in the process of developing policies, involving the client to such a large degree is associated with higher levels of client trust and relationship commitment. Further, trust and commitment are associated with qualities predictive of a successful financial planning engagement, including higher client satisfaction and retention as well as a greater propensity to reveal personal and financial information and implement planning recommendations.
Research Interests:
Financial planning policies are compact decision rules that can act as a touchstone to both clients and their advisors and allow for rapid decision making in the face of a changing environment. Good policies represent the distillation of... more
Financial planning policies are compact decision rules that can act as a touchstone to both clients and their advisors and allow for rapid decision making in the face of a changing environment. Good policies represent the distillation of client goals and values, as well as the relevant financial planning best practices, in a form that can both anchor the client to a consistent course of action and save the advisor from the necessity of crunching the numbers every time a question arises. Financial planning policies can be thought of as a form of "choice architecture" designed to neutralize and/or leverage behavioral biases in favor of financial planning best practices. Evidence suggests that in the process of developing policies, involving the client to such a large degree is associated with higher levels of client trust and relationship commitment. Further, trust and commitment are associated with qualities predictive of a successful financial planning engagement, including higher client satisfaction and retention as well as a greater propensity to reveal personal and financial information and implement planning recommendations.
Research Interests:
An overview of the development of the institutions that gave rise to or arose from the personal financial planning profession between 1969 and 2016. Institutions discussed include the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP), the... more
An overview of the development of the institutions that gave rise to or arose from the personal financial planning profession between 1969 and 2016. Institutions discussed include the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP), the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP), the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), the College for Financial Planning, CFP Board of Standards, the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), the Financial Planning Association (FPA), and the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB). Also covered is the history of financial planning education, beginning with Family and Consumer Sciences programs that arose in Land Grant Universities during the late nineteenth century and continuing to the 226 CFP Board-registered programs today.
Research Interests:
Since the 1970s, psychologists and economists have discussed the heuristics that typify people’s “automatic system” of thinking, including the cognitive biases that can arise from these mental shortcuts. In more recent years, researchers... more
Since the 1970s, psychologists and economists have discussed the heuristics that typify people’s “automatic system” of thinking, including the cognitive biases that can arise from these mental shortcuts. In more recent years, researchers in behavioral finance have also proposed ways to harness heuristics and biases in order to “nudge” individuals in the direction of better decision-making. Financial planners must often work to overcome the heuristics and cognitive biases that can lead clients to make poor financial decisions or fail to act on good ones. Policy-based financial planning, first proposed by Hallman and Rosenbloom (1975) and later developed by Yeske and Buie (2006), involves the formulation of compact decision rules that can support rapid decision-making in the face of changing external conditions. Policy-based financial planning can also be conceptualized as a form of “choice-architecture” as proposed by Thaler and Sunstein (2008). A six-step process for developing financial planning policies is offered, along with several examples of policies covering different areas of financial planning. A set of safe-withdrawal policies is also analyzed in terms of the elements of good choice architecture.
Research Interests:
Abstract:• The financial planning profession&#x27;s body of knowledge consists of a mix of consensus-based best practices and research-based findings founded upon formal standards of evidence. Even a cursory examination of that body... more
Abstract:• The financial planning profession&#x27;s body of knowledge consists of a mix of consensus-based best practices and research-based findings founded upon formal standards of evidence. Even a cursory examination of that body of writing and codified practice, however, reveals the former to vastly dominate the latter.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT
Research Interests:
Although planning policies are often implicit in the recommendations that financial planners provide their clients, taking the next step and transforming these into formal written statements can better help clients stay the course in an... more
Although planning policies are often implicit in the recommendations that financial planners provide their clients, taking the next step and transforming these into formal written statements can better help clients stay the course in an uncertain world. This article advances a framework for how planners might formulate such written policies.The ideal policy will be broad enough to encompass new or unexpected events, yet specific enough to minimize doubt as to what action to take in response to changing circumstances.Using the Integral framework, within which clients are viewed from the fourfold perspective of individual/interior, individual/exterior, collective/interior, and collective/exterior, can be very helpful when developing formal planning policies.The article provides several examples of financial planning policies developed using the integral framework.A six-step process is suggested for formulating policies that bridge interior client goals and values to concrete exterior ...
Research Interests:
Abstract:• The financial planning profession&#x27;s body of knowledge consists of a mix of consensus-based best practices and research-based findings founded upon formal standards of evidence. Even a cursory examination of that body... more
Abstract:• The financial planning profession&#x27;s body of knowledge consists of a mix of consensus-based best practices and research-based findings founded upon formal standards of evidence. Even a cursory examination of that body of writing and codified practice, however, reveals the former to vastly dominate the latter.
Research Interests:
This chapter discusses personal financial planning, which is an interdisciplinary practice that employs a six-step process to develop integrated strategies for individuals and families to efficiently mobilize their human and financial... more
This chapter discusses personal financial planning, which is an interdisciplinary practice that employs a six-step process to develop integrated strategies for individuals and families to efficiently mobilize their human and financial capital to achieve their life goals. Financial planning draws from various disciplines, including counseling, psychology, finance, economics, and law. It includes budgeting and cash flow planning, risk management, insurance planning, investment planning, retirement and employee benefits planning, tax planning, and estate planning. The strategic process whereby financial planners develop integrated strategies that draw from all these fields in pursuit of client goals is the profession’s unique domain. Heuristics and mental biases to which clients may be prone overlay the entire financial planning process, however. Financial planners should understand and consider these issues when developing recommendations uniquely suited to each client, maximizing the...
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Since the 1970s, psychologists and economists have discussed the heuristics that typify people’s “automatic system” of thinking, including the cognitive biases that can arise from these mental shortcuts. In more recent years, researchers... more
Since the 1970s, psychologists and economists have discussed the heuristics that typify people’s “automatic system” of thinking, including the cognitive biases that can arise from these mental shortcuts. In more recent years, researchers in behavioral finance have also proposed ways to harness heuristics and biases in order to “nudge” individuals in the direction of better decision-making. Financial planners must often work to overcome the heuristics and cognitive biases that can lead clients to make poor financial decisions or fail to act on good ones. Policy-based financial planning, first proposed by Hallman and Rosenbloom (1975) and later developed by Yeske and Buie (2006), involves the formulation of compact decision rules that can support rapid decision-making in the face of changing external conditions. Policy-based financial planning can also be conceptualized as a form of “choice-architecture” as proposed by Thaler and Sunstein (2008). A six-step process for developing fina...
Research Interests:
An overview of the development of the institutions that gave rise to or arose from the personal financial planning profession between 1969 and 2016. Institutions discussed include the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP), the... more
An overview of the development of the institutions that gave rise to or arose from the personal financial planning profession between 1969 and 2016. Institutions discussed include the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP), the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP), the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), the College for Financial Planning, CFP Board of Standards, the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), the Financial Planning Association (FPA), and the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB). Also covered is the history of financial planning education, beginning with Family and Consumer Sciences programs that arose in Land Grant Universities during the late nineteenth century and continuing to the 226 CFP Board-registered programs today.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Since the 1970s, psychologists and economists have discussed the heuristics that typify people’s “automatic system” of thinking, including the cognitive biases that can arise from these mental shortcuts. In more recent years, researchers... more
Since the 1970s, psychologists and economists have discussed the heuristics that typify people’s “automatic system” of thinking, including the cognitive biases that can arise from these mental shortcuts. In more recent years, researchers in behavioral finance have also proposed ways to harness heuristics and biases in order to “nudge” individuals in the direction of better decision-making. Financial planners must often work to overcome the heuristics and cognitive biases that can lead clients to make poor financial decisions or fail to act on good ones. Policy-based financial planning, first proposed by Hallman and Rosenbloom (1975) and later developed by Yeske and Buie (2006), involves the formulation of compact decision rules that can support rapid decision-making in the face of changing external conditions. Policy-based financial planning can also be conceptualized as a form of “choice-architecture” as proposed by Thaler and Sunstein (2008). A six-step process for developing financial planning policies is offered, along with several examples of policies covering different areas of financial planning. A set of safe-withdrawal policies is also analyzed in terms of the elements of good choice architecture.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This chapter discusses personal financial planning, which is an interdisciplinary practice that employs a six-step process to develop integrated strategies for individuals and families to efficiently mobilize their human and financial... more
This chapter discusses personal financial planning, which is an interdisciplinary practice that employs a six-step process to develop integrated strategies for individuals and families to efficiently mobilize their human and financial capital to achieve their life goals. Financial planning draws from various disciplines, including counseling, psychology, finance, economics, and law. It includes budgeting and cash flow planning, risk management, insurance planning, investment planning, retirement and employee benefits planning, tax planning, and estate planning. The strategic process whereby financial planners develop integrated strategies that draw from all these fields in pursuit of client goals is the profession’s unique domain. Heuristics and mental biases to which clients may be prone overlay the entire financial planning process, however. Financial planners should understand and consider these issues when developing recommendations uniquely suited to each client, maximizing the...
Since the 1970s, psychologists and economists have discussed the heuristics that typify people’s “automatic system” of thinking, including the cognitive biases that can arise from these mental shortcuts. In more recent years, researchers... more
Since the 1970s, psychologists and economists have discussed the heuristics that typify people’s “automatic system” of thinking, including the cognitive biases that can arise from these mental shortcuts. In more recent years, researchers in behavioral finance have also proposed ways to harness heuristics and biases in order to “nudge” individuals in the direction of better decision-making.
Financial planners must often work to overcome the heuristics and cognitive biases that can lead clients to make poor financial decisions or fail to act on good ones.
Policy-based financial planning, first proposed by Hallman and Rosenbloom (1975) and later developed by Yeske and Buie (2006), involves the formulation of compact decision rules that can support rapid decision-making in the face of changing external conditions. Policy-based financial planning can also be conceptualized as a form of “choice-architecture” as proposed by Thaler and Sunstein (2008).
A six-step process for developing financial planning policies is offered, along with several examples of policies covering different areas of financial planning. A set of safe-withdrawal policies is also analyzed in terms of the elements of good choice architecture.
Financial planners must often work to overcome the heuristics and cognitive biases that can lead clients to make poor financial decisions or fail to act on good ones.
Policy-based financial planning, first proposed by Hallman and Rosenbloom (1975) and later developed by Yeske and Buie (2006), involves the formulation of compact decision rules that can support rapid decision-making in the face of changing external conditions. Policy-based financial planning can also be conceptualized as a form of “choice-architecture” as proposed by Thaler and Sunstein (2008).
A six-step process for developing financial planning policies is offered, along with several examples of policies covering different areas of financial planning. A set of safe-withdrawal policies is also analyzed in terms of the elements of good choice architecture.
Research Interests:
• After four decades, the financial planning profession still lacks an overarching framework for organizing and testing the strategy-making (i.e. "planning") activities of its practitioners. • An integrating framework is proposed that... more
• After four decades, the financial planning profession still lacks an overarching framework for organizing and testing the strategy-making (i.e. "planning") activities of its practitioners.
• An integrating framework is proposed that consists of five modes of strategy-making: planner-driven, data-driven, policy-driven, relationship-driven, and client-driven.
• Each of these five modes represent different relative roles for the planner and client in the planning process. The modes also fall along a parallel dimension of planning versus emergence.
• The proposed model is tested against measures of client trust and relationship commitment and the policy-driven mode is found to be the most powerful predictor of both.
• Client complexity is also analyzed as a predictor of client trust and commitment and it is found that trust and commitment are inversely related to the complexity of a client's circumstances.
• Finally, a factor analysis of planner strategy-making activities shows that planners in independent firms tend to favor data- and policy-driven approaches and those practicing at large financial services firms tend to be more dominant in the planner-driven mode.
• An integrating framework is proposed that consists of five modes of strategy-making: planner-driven, data-driven, policy-driven, relationship-driven, and client-driven.
• Each of these five modes represent different relative roles for the planner and client in the planning process. The modes also fall along a parallel dimension of planning versus emergence.
• The proposed model is tested against measures of client trust and relationship commitment and the policy-driven mode is found to be the most powerful predictor of both.
• Client complexity is also analyzed as a predictor of client trust and commitment and it is found that trust and commitment are inversely related to the complexity of a client's circumstances.
• Finally, a factor analysis of planner strategy-making activities shows that planners in independent firms tend to favor data- and policy-driven approaches and those practicing at large financial services firms tend to be more dominant in the planner-driven mode.
Research Interests:
Although planning policies are often implicit in the recommendations that financial planners provide their clients, taking the next step and transforming these into formal written statements can better help clients stay the course in an... more
Although planning policies are often implicit in the recommendations that financial planners provide their clients, taking the next step and transforming these into formal written statements can better help clients stay the course in an uncertain world. This article advances a framework for how planners might formulate such written policies.
The ideal policy will be broad enough to encompass new or unexpected events, yet specific enough to minimize doubt as to what action to take in response to changing circumstances.
Using the Integral framework, within which clients are viewed from the fourfold perspective of individual/interior, individual/exterior, collective/interior, and collective/exterior, can be very helpful when developing formal planning policies.
The article provides several examples of financial planning policies developed using the integral framework.
A six-step process is suggested for formulating policies that bridge interior client goals and values to concrete exterior actions. The steps include identifying planning areas relevant to each objective, crafting statements that capture the client goals and planning principles, using scenario planning to test the policies, and updating the policies.
An extended case study shows an initial policy, a revised policy five years later as client circumstances change, and how the policy keeps the clients on course.
In addition to giving clients a sense of control amidst the daily barrage of "noise," this policy-based approach can be very helpful to clients who use planners only on an as needed basis, and to young people whose biggest planning decisions have yet to come.
The ideal policy will be broad enough to encompass new or unexpected events, yet specific enough to minimize doubt as to what action to take in response to changing circumstances.
Using the Integral framework, within which clients are viewed from the fourfold perspective of individual/interior, individual/exterior, collective/interior, and collective/exterior, can be very helpful when developing formal planning policies.
The article provides several examples of financial planning policies developed using the integral framework.
A six-step process is suggested for formulating policies that bridge interior client goals and values to concrete exterior actions. The steps include identifying planning areas relevant to each objective, crafting statements that capture the client goals and planning principles, using scenario planning to test the policies, and updating the policies.
An extended case study shows an initial policy, a revised policy five years later as client circumstances change, and how the policy keeps the clients on course.
In addition to giving clients a sense of control amidst the daily barrage of "noise," this policy-based approach can be very helpful to clients who use planners only on an as needed basis, and to young people whose biggest planning decisions have yet to come.
Research Interests:
• The financial planning profession’s body of knowledge consists of a mix of consensus-based best practices and research-based findings founded upon formal standards of evidence. Even a cursory examination of that body of writing and... more
• The financial planning profession’s body of knowledge consists of a mix of consensus-based best practices and research-based findings founded upon formal standards of evidence. Even a cursory examination of that body of writing and codified practice, however, reveals the former to vastly dominate the latter.
• The scientific method provides a framework for validating the profession’s best practices, so that practitioners can have confidence that their “best” practices are based on the “best” evidence.
• If financial planning is to leave its adolescent stage of development and achieve its full potential as a learned profession, three requirements must be met:
- It will require a commitment by all practitioners to stay abreast of new research, without regard to whether or not it qualifies for CE credit.
- It will require practitioners to possess or acquire the ability to read and critically evaluate that research and a commitment by financial planning educational programs to impart those skills to students.
- It will require a commitment on the part of practitioners to partner with academics in identifying the profession’s most important questions and designing research initiatives to answer them.
• The scientific method provides a framework for validating the profession’s best practices, so that practitioners can have confidence that their “best” practices are based on the “best” evidence.
• If financial planning is to leave its adolescent stage of development and achieve its full potential as a learned profession, three requirements must be met:
- It will require a commitment by all practitioners to stay abreast of new research, without regard to whether or not it qualifies for CE credit.
- It will require practitioners to possess or acquire the ability to read and critically evaluate that research and a commitment by financial planning educational programs to impart those skills to students.
- It will require a commitment on the part of practitioners to partner with academics in identifying the profession’s most important questions and designing research initiatives to answer them.
Research Interests:
This is a doctoral dissertation. Personal financial planning is an interdisciplinary practice that draws many of its tools and techniques from the fields of finance, economics, law, taxation, and investment theory. The profession’s body... more
This is a doctoral dissertation. Personal financial planning is an interdisciplinary practice that draws many of its tools and techniques from the fields of finance, economics, law, taxation, and investment theory. The profession’s body of knowledge is dominated by research devoted to these practical and theoretical “sub-sets.” What has largely been missing to date is any significant theoretical work devoted to the actual planning activities of financial planners, wherein they develop comprehensive strategies for using all of a client’s human and material resources to achieve their various life goals. This dissertation for the first time offers an integrating framework for describing the strategy-making activities of financial planners. This framework consists of five modes of strategy-making that fall along the dimension of relative involvement by the planner and the client in the planning process. These modes can also be shown to fall along a parallel dimension that might be described as “planning versus emergence,” with traditional, deterministic planning techniques employed at one extreme and more contingent, open-ended approaches found at the other extreme. It is found that the approaches that are most balanced along both dimensions are also most highly correlated with client trust and commitment. It is also found that distinctive combinations of strategy-making modes are found in different practice environments.