Milestone Recognitions

This year, the financial planning profession is celebrating its 50th anniversary, a milestone that is inspiring financial planners and media professionals alike to reflect on the humble beginnings and the grand evolution of our work. In recognition of this anniversary, InvestmentNews assembled a list of the 20 most influential men and women who have helped shape the profession into what it is today.

We are honored to share that our two founders, Dr. Dave Yeske and Elissa Buie, were included in this recognition for their shared contributions and dedication to the profession. Below we share the full InvestmentNews profile highlighting Elissa and Dave’s work.

If you’re interested in learning more about the financial planning profession, we encourage you to read Dave’s 2016 article published in the Journal of Financial Planning titled, “A Concise History of the Financial Planning Profession” and the InvestmentNews article titled, “Financial Planning Founders Started a Movement – And Created a Profession”. 

David Yeske and Elissa Buie

Based solely on their shared contribution and dedication to the financial planning industry, it might be easy to overlook the fact that David Yeske, 62, and his wife Elissa Buie, 59, also run a successful financial planning business, Yeske Buie.

Mr. Yeske merged his advisory business with Ms. Buie’s in 2008, two years after they got married. They continue to operate offices in San Francisco and Vienna, Va.

The two met in the late ’90s while serving on the board of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners, the predecessor to the Financial Planning Association, which they each chaired.

They are often cited for an academic paper they co-authored in 2006 in the Journal of Financial Planning on ‘policy-based planning.’

The premise of the paper was that advisers should establish explicit polices to help guide their planning with clients.

By creating such policies, the paper contends, both advisers and clients benefit from more precise decision-making in uncertain environments, which helps clients stick to their long-term financial plan regardless of the economic cycle or market conditions.

Financial advisers who followed the advice of Mr. Yeske and Ms. Buie at that time, just two years before the 2008 financial crisis, are likely still grateful for the tools they provided to help them navigate that volatile period in the financial markets.

— Jeff Benjamin