Institute Leadership and Fellows

Wade Pfau

Wade D. Pfau, PhD, CFA, RICP® is the founder of Retirement Researcher, an educational resource for individuals and financial advisors on topics related to retirement income planning. He is a co-founder of the Retirement Income Style Awareness tool and a co-host of the Retire with Style podcast. He also serves as a principal and the director of retirement research for McLean Asset Management. He is a professor of practice at the American College of Financial Services and past director of the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) designation program. He holds a doctorate in economics from Princeton University and has published more than sixty peer-reviewed research articles in a wide variety of academic and practitioner journals. He is a contributor to Forbes, Advisor Perspectives, and an Expert Panelist for the Wall Street Journal.  Wade’s newest book is Retirement Planning Guidebook: Navigating the Important Decisions for Retirement Success. He is also the author of three other books in the Retirement Researcher Guide Series. He was a nominee for the InvestmentNews “Power 20” in 2013 and “40 Under 40” in 2014, the Investment Advisor 35 list, the Investment Advisor 25 list for 2014, and Financial Planning Magazine’s Influencer Awards. He is a two-time winner of the Journal of Financial Planning Montgomery-Warschauer Award, a two-time winner of the Academic Thought Leadership Award from the Retirement Income Industry Association, and a best paper award winner in the retirement category from the Academy of Financial Services.

Michael Finke

Michael Finke, Ph.D. is a Professor of wealth management and Frank M. Engle Distinguished Chair in Economic Security Research at The American College of Financial Services. He received a doctorate in consumer economics from the Ohio State University in 1998 and in finance from the University of Missouri in 2011. He led the Retirement Planning and Living Consortium at Texas Tech University before moving to the American College, and is a nationally known researcher in the areas of retirement income planning, retirement spending, life satisfaction, and cognitive aging.  He is a frequent speaker at financial planning conferences and was named one of the 25 most influential people in the field of investment advising in 2020 and 2021 by Investment Advisor Magazine.

David Blanchett

David Blanchett, PhD, CFA, CFP®, is Managing Director and Head of Retirement Research, DC Solutions for PGIM, the global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. In this role he develops research and innovative solutions to help improve retirement outcomes for investors. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Wealth Management at The American College of Financial Services

David has published over 100 papers in a variety of industry and academic journals that have received a variety of awards. In 2021, ThinkAdvisor included him in the IA25 for “pushing the industry forward.” In 2014, InvestmentNews included him in their inaugural 40 under 40 list as a “visionary” for the financial planning industry.

When David isn’t working, he’s probably out for a jog, playing with his four kids, or rooting for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Chris Heye

Chris Heye, PhD, is the CEO and Founder of Whealthcare Solutions, Inc. and Whealthcare Planning LLC. Dr Heye is a technology entrepreneur, writer, researcher, and speaker in fields residing at the intersection of physical, behavioral, and mental health and financial wellbeing. After confronting dementia in his own family and witnessing elder financial abuse in friends, he decided not enough was being done to protect older adults. He helped to design and manage a clinical study conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital that investigated the behavioral and cognitive underpinnings of sound financial decision-making. The results of that study serve as the foundation for the first of its kind cloud-based application that enables adults and their families to more effectively identify, manage, and mitigate health and longevity-related financial risks.

Dr Heye is a regular columnist for the Journal of Financial Planning and is a Research Fellow at the Alliance for Lifetime Income. He received his BA from Wesleyan University and PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he also completed a post-doctoral program at the MIT Industrial Performance Center.

Colin Devine

Colin is a Research Fellow for the Alliance for Lifetime Income, a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization focused on helping educate Americans on the risk of outliving their savings so they can enjoy their retirement.

Colin also provides strategic consulting services to the insurance and investment management sectors on a host of issues including: corporate development, enterprise and risk-based capital management, investments, legacy liability de-risking, regulatory changes and rating agency/investor relations. He also works with high-growth InsurTech-enabled businesses where he is actively engaged in transforming the life insurance underwriting risk assessment and sales process.

A recognized industry thought leader, Colin is a frequent guest speaker at boards, industry conferences and corporate events.

Previously, Colin was a sell-side equity research and ratings analyst for almost twenty years. During his 15-year tenure with Smith Barney/Citigroup he was on the Institutional Investor All-America Research Team for 14 straight years including 10 consecutive years where he held the #1/#2 ranking in the Life Insurance Equity Research category. Smart Money Magazine named him one of the “Last Honest Analysts.”

Earlier in his career, Colin was a Director in Standard & Poor’s Insurance Ratings group and a Vice-President of a Canadian life insurer where he was involved in investments, treasury and corporate development.

Colin is a Chartered Financial Analyst, Chartered Professional Accountant and a Certified Financial Planner. He holds an MBA in Finance from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Guelph.

Fervent fundraiser for Alzheimer and brain related research through Baycrest, a research and teaching hospital for the elderly fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

Colin is also a board member of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, a 501 non-profit organization based in Clearwater, Florida. CMA is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of sick and injured marine animals, public education, conservation, and research. It was also home to Winter, the star of the film a Dolphin’s Tale.

Jean Chatzky

Jean Chatzky is the founder and CEO of HerMoney.com and the coaching program FinanceFixx. She is the host of the podcast HerMoney With Jean Chatzky and the co-host of the national radio show Everyday Wealth. The Financial Ambassador for AARP, she was the Financial Editor for NBC Today for 25 years. Jean is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, and a fierce advocate for financial literacy.  Her latest book is Women with Money: The Judgment-Free Guide to Creating the Joyful, Less Stressed, Purposeful (and Yes, Rich) Life You Deserve and she’s looking forward to the publication of How To Money, a guidebook for Gen Z women coming out in May of 2022.

Suzanne Norman

Suzanne Norman is an Education Fellow, Financial Literacy Expert, Executive Coach, Speaker, and Mentor who consults on a variety of financial, investment, and planning topics. She has 30 years of investment industry experience and has worked for both national and international investment firms. Suzanne has held roles in management, consulting, and advisory with a strong emphasis on helping people plan and save for retirement. Suzanne received a BA in Psychology from Hood College, holds a certificate in Women in Leadership from Cornell, is a certified Life Coach (CPCC), and is a Certified Investment Management Analyst® Suzanne lives by the motto- Scientia potentia est- particularly when it comes to money. She is passionate about helping women develop strong financial skills and writes about topics that matter to them. Suzanne is an active member of CFA Society Boston’s Financial Literacy committee and a board member of Junior Achievement of Northern New England. In her spare time, she enjoys pursuing her love of travel, the outdoors, and photography.

Anne Lester

Anne Lester, former portfolio manager and Head of Retirement Solutions for JPMorgan Asset Management’s Solutions group, retired in 2020. She is on a mission to help Americans, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, understand that it is possible for them to achieve a happy retirement, on their time and target. She continues to be a regular commentator on an array of retirement issues for consumers, industry and public policy through traditional media outlets and social media. She is currently working on a book which will help younger savers understand how to overcome their own behavioral biases and set out on the path to long-term savings success.

While at JPMorgan, she advanced the firm’s market-leading retirement investment product offerings and thought leadership agenda, developing investment products integrating anonymized data and insights from behavioral economics. Under her leadership, JPMorgan partnered with AARP and the Aspen Institute to found the Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings, bringing together industry, advocacy, academic and government leaders to converge on ideas and innovations that will help build a private savings system in the US that delivers retirement security for all.

Anne, who joined J.P. Morgan in 1992, worked as a fixed income and currency trader and portfolio manager in the Milan office prior to her move to the Solutions group in 2000. She spent over a decade managing Public, Private, and Multi-Employer Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution plan assets before focusing exclusively on Defined Contribution research, product development, and management.

Before beginning her career with J.P. Morgan, Anne spent a year in Tokyo as a Fulbright Scholar working for a member of the Japanese Parliament. Previously, she worked as a staff assistant for the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, John Glenn, Chairman. Anne earned an MA in international economics and Japan studies from the John’s Hopkins University’s School for Advanced International Studies and received a BA in Politics from Princeton University.

Anne holds three patents for the development of innovative financial services products and analytics. She is a frequent contributor at industry, academic, and public policy conferences in the US and abroad and is a contributor to Bloomberg TV, CNBC, WSJ, NYT and industry publications. She is a Non-Executive Director Smart USA and volunteers on the board of Trenton Music Makers, an El Sistema-inspired after school program in Trenton, NJ.

Richard Leider

Richard is founder of Inventure – The Purpose Company, where the mission is to help people to “unlock the power of purpose” and answer the question: “Why do you get up in the morning?”

An international bestselling author of eleven books including three best-sellers which have sold over one million copies, his latest book, Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old?: The Path of Purposeful Aging is the defining book on purposeful aging. The Power of Purpose and Repacking Your Bags are considered classics in the personal growth field.

Widely viewed as a pioneer of the global purpose movement, his work is regularly featured in many media sources, and his PBS Special – “The Power of Purpose” – was viewed by millions of people.

He has taken his purpose message to all 50 states, Canada, and 4 continents, and he has advised everyone from AARP to the National Football League to the U.S. State Department.

Miata Edoga

Miata Edoga is an actor and the CEO and Founder of the financial education
company, Abundance Bound. For over two decades, she has been helping
creatives, independent workers and other non traditional earners establish a
healthier, more compassionate relationship with their money – whether they are
just starting out, or starting over, or starting to wonder how they should handle
their growing wealth.

Miata served as the National Financial Wellness Consultant for The Actors Fund
– a national human services non-profit for everyone in the entertainment industry.
She has also led workshops and seminars on financial empowerment for a wide
range of organizations including: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, The Television Academy, The Motion Picture & Television Fund, The
Writers Guild of America, The Directors Guild, SAG-AFTRA, The Casting Society
of America, and The Center for Cultural Innovation. The Abundance Bound
curriculum has been licensed by industry-leading organizations and is currently
being taught on both coasts.

Jae Oh

Jae Oh is the published author of Maximize Your Medicare (Allworth, 2022), a Certified Financial Planner™, and founder of GH2 Benefits. For a decade, he has been a contributor to the Medicare audience, aimed at both consumer and professional groups, on local and national levels. GH2 Benefits is a comprehensive financial planning firm with clients nationwide. Mr. Oh is a graduate of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (Booth).