DENVER (September 8, 2021) — The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), the country’s largest membership organization for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals and those who support the financial planning process, is pleased to announce Thomas Warschauer, Ph.D., CFP®, as the recipient of the Association’s and profession’s highest individual award – the 2021 P. Kemp Fain, Jr., Award.
In honor of the late P. Kemp Fain, Jr., CFP®, this pinnacle of recognition is bestowed on an individual who has made significant contributions to the advancement of the financial planning profession. The Award is presented to an individual who has realized outstanding achievements in service to society, academia, government, and professional activities.
“Few people have left their mark on the Financial Planning Association and the profession as much as Tom has. As one of the individuals responsible for the creation of the Journal of Financial Planning, every FPA member and, quite frankly, the profession, has been touched by Tom’s vast contributions to the building of the base of professional knowledge in financial planning,” says 2021 FPA President Skip Schweiss, CFP®, AIF®. “As an academic, Tom’s influence has touched the lives of thousands of students over the years, but his influence has extended well outside the classroom. In a way, anyone working as a financial planner has been one of Tom’s students, and for that, we are all grateful.”
Warschauer is Professor Emeritus in the Fowler College of Business Finance Department at San Diego State University (SDSU) in San Diego, Calif. For 35 years, Warschauer was the Director of SDSU’s well-respected financial planning programs. While at SDSU, Warschauer worked with Dr. Robert Bohn of Brigham Young University and Dr. Tom Potts of Baylor University to start the Academy of Financial Services (AFS). The goal was to encourage basic and applied research in personal financial planning and financial services and to encourage the development of the curricula in the financial services field at the university level. Warschauer served as president of AFS in 1985.
His published research included Optimal Liquidity, Universal vs. Funded Goals, Investor Time Horizons, and the Economic Value of Planning. Warschauer authored a dozen chapters in the Financial Planning Competency Handbook (Wiley) and is Associate Editor of the Financial Services Review and Review of Financial Planning. As the first Academic Editor of the Journal of Financial Planning, his contributions have helped shape the 43-year history of the Journal. In recognition of those contributions, FPA’s annual Montgomery-Warschauer Award was named in his honor. In its 10th year, the Award recognizes the paper published in the Journal that provided the most outstanding contribution to the betterment of the profession in the preceding year.
Warschauer’s professional career began in 1970 when he was an NASD Principal with IMI Securities, Inc. in Englewood, Colo. He started an RIA in 1972 and then became the first Certified Financial Planner™ in the State of Maine in 1974 while teaching at the University of Maine in Orono. His conviction in the CFP® marks also led to his work with CFP Board’s predecessor organization (the International Board of Standards and Practices) in the transition of the CFP® marks from the College of Financial Planning to CFP Board. He also served on CFP Board’s Board of Examiners, helping develop the first CFP® comprehensive exam and many other projects.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees, he went on to earn his Doctorate from the University of Colorado in 1976.
“I am extremely honored and humbled by this award. The real credit goes to the many hundreds of past students and others who find great value in helping their clients make financial decisions, which improved their clients’ lives," says Warschauer.
Warschauer will be presented with the Award at an in-person FPA national event in 2022.
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About the Financial Planning Association
The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) is the principal membership organization for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professionals, educators, financial services professionals and students who are committed to elevating the profession that transforms lives through the power of financial planning. With a focus on the practice, business and profession of financial planning, FPA advances financial planning practitioners through every phase of their careers, from novice to master to leader of the profession. Learn more about FPA at financialplanningassociation.org and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/fpassociation.