The College Welcomes New Trustees
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA – April 9, 2025 – The American College of Financial Services is proud to announce the addition of Russell N. James III, JD, PhD, CFP®, Paul LaPiana, CFP®, and John C. Roberts, CFA, to its board of trustees. Their combined expertise in financial services and higher education will enhance The College’s mission to advance the profession and benefit society.
Russell N. James III, JD, PhD, CFP®, is a professor at Texas Tech University. A renowned expert in charitable financial planning, James specializes in donor psychology and philanthropic strategies. His research and teachings have significantly contributed to the understanding of charitable giving behaviors, aiding nonprofits and financial advisors in developing effective fundraising strategies. James holds both a law degree and doctorate, in addition to the CFP® certification, bringing a unique interdisciplinary perspective to the field of philanthropic planning.
Paul LaPiana, CFP®, is the head of brand, product, and affiliated distribution at MassMutual. With over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, LaPiana leads the company’s brand strategy, product development, and distribution channels. He joined MassMutual in 2016 following the acquisition of the MetLife Premier Client Group and has since held pivotal roles, including head of product. LaPiana is a CFP® professional and holds FINRA Series 6, 7, 24, and 63 registrations. His leadership has been instrumental in driving innovation and aligning MassMutual’s offerings with the evolving needs of clients.
John C. Roberts, CFA, serves as executive vice president and chief field officer at Northwestern Mutual. Since joining the company in 2006, Roberts has held various leadership roles, including interim chief financial officer and vice president of distribution performance. In his current position, he oversees the growth and success of Northwestern Mutual’s field force, comprising over 20,000 advisors and team members, and leads the company’s wealth and investment management division. Roberts holds a Bachelor of Science in finance from Indiana University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and serves on the community board for the Milwaukee Public Museum.
“We are honored to welcome Russell, Paul, and John to our board of trustees,” said George Nichols III, CAP®, president and CEO of The College. “Their exceptional leadership and industry expertise will help guide us as we expand access to applied financial knowledge, support the next generation of financial professionals, and empower individuals and communities to achieve greater financial security.”
The College’s board of trustees plays an essential role in shaping the institution’s strategic vision and fostering innovation in financial services education. The addition of these accomplished leaders underscores The College’s ongoing commitment to providing rigorous, high-impact financial education programs.
For more information about The College’s leadership, including the full roster of trustees, visit https://www.theamericancollege.edu/about-the-college/our-people/leadership.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
Founded in 1927, The American College of Financial Services is the nation’s largest nonprofit educational institution devoted to financial services professionals. Holding the highest level of academic accreditation, The College has educated over 200,000 professionals across the United States through certificate, designation, and graduate degree programs. Its portfolio of applied knowledge also includes just-in-time learning and consumer financial education programs. The College’s faculty represents some of the foremost thought leaders in the financial services industry. Visit TheAmericanCollege.edu and connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Discover all the ways you can expand your opportunities with us.
Contact
Sarah Tremallo
908-967-0381 / stremallo@jconnelly.com
Jared Trexler
610-526-1268 / jared.trexler@theamericancollege.edu
Your Retirement Planning Checklist
These steps are sometimes irreversible, so it is important to get it right the first time. Failure to choose wisely can have permanent consequences.
Although retirement from employment usually has a firm date involved, this date does not necessarily determine when other retirement decisions must be made. There are many steps associated with retiring, such as leaving employment, signing up for government benefits, and possibly moving from a current residence. Not all these retirement activities will occur at the same time.
Your Role as a Retirement Planner
As a retirement planner, you can help your clients with the stress, confusion, and angst that often accompany the process of retiring. By being there for your clients, and providing support and advice, you can earn the opportunity to continue to work with them even after retirement.
Below is a checklist of common considerations for the three primary retirement decisions that will apply to almost all your clients: employment benefits, Medicare, and Social Security. This checklist is not meant to be exhaustive about all the issues that may arise, but it provides an outline for you to consider as you work with your clients who are preparing for their big day.
Encouraging Client Responsibility
Note that the checklist puts the responsibility on the client – it states “you” (i.e., the client) are the one who is ultimately responsible for accomplishing these tasks. This approach is intentionally designed to remind the client that — even though, as a retirement planner, you are helping them — they will need to personally take actionable steps to retire. Their employer will want paperwork completed, and the government will expect them to fulfill the necessary steps to sign up for benefits such as Medicare, Social Security, and veteran benefits.
More From The College
- Explore the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) Program
- Empower clients with The Retirement Course™
From The President About The College Insights
Presidents Report 2024
If I were to encapsulate the past year in a word, it would be transformative. The title of this report, Shaping Knowledge, Building Impact, exemplifies what we accomplished through the transformative 12 months of 2024.
Just as the verbs shaping and building are ongoing, so is transformation – it’s a journey, not a destination. Transformation is also about connecting knowledge (whether that’s data-based insight, or direct feedback from our students, alumni, and strategic partners, or some other source of input) to impact. What value is knowledge if it won’t have an impact? Likewise, what good is the impact if it isn’t grounded in knowledge?
Throughout this report, you’ll find stories that showcase the transformative connection between knowledge and impact, including:
- How in-demand learning and specialized knowledge can power growth
- What (and who) makes the student experience great
- Why representation is the key to growing the profession
- When and where lifelong learning can expand one’s opportunities
This is the arc of our remarkable story – and yours. After all, The College’s transformation is a collaborative process and you play an important role.
Whether you’re a student, alum, strategic partner, friend, or supporter of The College, I cannot thank you enough for the time, talent, and treasure you have put into the transformative year of 2024.
I hope you’ll read the President’s Report and share it with others. Then, please join us in continuing our mission to uplift the profession and benefit society this year.
Download the President’s Report
More From The College
- Donate to support our mission
The Guru Gap in Financial Services
In this special episode of the Shares podcast, recorded live at The College’s Horizons 2025 conference, Professor of Practice Steve Parrish, JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP® speaks with author David McKnight about the ubiquitous nature of financial planning “gurus” in the media today and how their advice, while it may give your clients comfort, may not always be in their best interest. They talk about how to differentiate sound advice from sound bites, and why financial professionals should keep open dialogues with clients about things they hear and what’s backed up by the facts.
David McKnight is an author and president at Power of Zero. He graduated from Brigham Young University with honors in 1997 and has been featured in Forbes, USA Today, The New York Times, Fox Business, Bloomberg Radio, MarketWatch, CBS Radio, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq.com, Reuters, Investor’s Business Daily, Kiplinger, and numerous other national publications. David’s bestselling book The Power of Zero has sold over 400,000 copies and the updated and revised version was published by Penguin Random House in 2018. This book was recently made into a full-length documentary film entitled The Power of Zero: The Tax Train is Coming. When his follow-up book Tax-Free Income for Life launched in November of 2020, it finished the week as the #3 most-sold business book in the world. When his most recent book The Guru Gap launched in December of 2024, it finished the week at #8 on the USA Today Bestseller list and was the top-selling business book in the world. He and his wife Felice have seven children.
Any views or opinions expressed in this podcast are the hosts’ and guests' own and do not necessarily represent those of The American College of Financial Services.
More From The College
- Get tax-savvy advising skills with the Tax Planning Certified Professional™ (TPCP™) Program.
- Secure specialized expertise in retirement income planning with the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) Program.
Retirement Planning On-Demand Webcasts
Social Security Law Funding and Future
It’s important advisors stay current on Social Security, especially during periods of change. During this engaging discussion, our thought leaders lead an informative discussion of the current state of Social Security and evaluate the impact of recent and prospective changes on retirement income planning.
The webcast provides an overall update on Social Security today before delving into specific topics regarding the subject, such as the new Social Security Fairness Act, the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), the funding crisis for the Social Security Trust Fund and possible legislative solutions, and more.
Viewers will come away from this webcast with the knowledge to better serve their clients’ retirement income planning needs.