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Robert Tiller Named Director of the Personal Financial Planning Program

By Keith Morelli

TAMPA (March 12, 2020) -- With decades of experience in financial planning, Robert Tiller, a graduate of the USF Muma College of Business Doctor of Business Administration Program, has been named the Raymond James Financial Director of the Personal Financial Planning Program.

The program is relatively new to the university and was created to address the growing demand for personal financial planners and wealth managers in an industry in which most of the professionals are approaching retirement age.

“I want USF students to find the professional joys I’ve experienced,” Tiller said, “as they become the next generation’s trusted financial planners with a strong knowledge base, skill set and personal concern for each client.”

Much of Tiller’s research has focused on the aging of Americans and its impact on the financial industry.

Tiller is a certified financial planner and industry advocate who founded Full Circle Financial. He is the co-author of “Forgotten Faces: Family Caregiver Voices” to be published by Covenant Books this summer. He has been a panelist at national retirement symposiums, taught securities and practice management courses to financial advisers, and served on the boards of local industry and charitable organizations.

The Personal Financial Planning Program graduated its first class last year. Tiller takes over for Laura Mattia, who created the program in 2016.

The decision to implement the major was supported by several key factors and statistics concerning the industry’s current state. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for financial planners is projected to grow by 30 percent over the next several years. Additionally, more than 50 percent of financial advisers in the country are over 50 years old, while only 4 percent are under 30 years old.

Graduates are finding entry level salaries average nearly $58,000 a year and the mid-career salary in Florida is nearly $120,000, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Additionally, a recent survey by U.S. News and World Report ranked the occupation of financial adviser as No. 4 in job satisfaction.

The program requires students to attend national association meetings, participate in the Financial Planners Association’s FPA Challenge, be members of an FPA student chapter, attend financial planning and wealth management boot camps and seminars, and participate in internship programs. As a result, graduates will be well versed in financial planning and will be able to seamlessly enter the workforce as certified fiduciaries.

“As baby boomers approach and enter retirement, there is a growing need for qualified, trusted personal financial planners and wealth managers,” Tiller said. “This program provides the tools needed by a new generation of professionals to watch over and protect the life’s savings of our retirees in their golden years.”