Three members of the PFP’s first cohort that began in the summer of 2009 successfully defended their dissertations this academic year. They are: Brett A. Coffman, Ph.D., CFBA, CFP®, (December 2013); Nicholas A. Carr, Ph.D., CIMA® (March 2014); and Justin M. Henegar, Ph.D., CFP®, ChFC, CRPC® (April 2014).
The new doctoral degree program graduates and their research are:
Brett Coffman
Dissertation: “The Family Business Succession Model: An Exploratory Analysis of Factors Impacting Family Business Succession Preparedness.”
Summary: The efficient operation and succession of family owned businesses plays a critical role in our national economic health. This study built upon the Family Business Succession Model, which is based on family systems theory. The impact of owner characteristics, enterprise characteristics, business formalizing activities, family influence, access to resources, and external environmental conditions on the extensiveness of family business succession preparedness was explored. Results revealed that intent to transfer the business entity and intent to enable the next generation to manage wealth together as an economic unit. These findings suggest that helping family business owners clarify this intent will help them plan for their business succession.
He is a senior vice president and business and financial planning strategist for BB&T Wealth in Charlotte, NC. Major professor: Kristy L. Archuleta, Ph.D., LMFT.
Full dissertation at http://hdl.handle.net/2097/16979.
Nick Carr
Dissertation: “Reassessing the Assessment: Exploring the Factors that Contribute to Comprehensive Financial Risk Evaluation.”
Summary: Financial risk-assessment is a multidimensional process consisting of risk need, risk perception, risk tolerance, risk capacity, risk knowledge, risk composure, and risk preference. Typically, practitioners focus upon client risk tolerance as a uni-dimensional means of constructing and managing portfolios. Further, among the various risk components, several have more significant relationships and should therefore be weighted more heavily in determining a client’s risk profile.
Research at http://hdl.handle.net/2097/17283
Carr is a vice president and wealth management advisor with Legates Carr Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch in Naples, FL. Major professor: Cliff Robb, Ph.D.
Justin Henegar
Dissertation: Qualitative study pertaining to homeschooling and financial literacy of children across the elementary, middle, and high school age group categories.
Summary: Four concepts affecting the learning of financial literacy concepts by young people in the United States are communication, engagement, outside influences and parental perspectives. Parents who homeschool tend to focus on three main personal finance topics: (1) debt or the avoidance of debt, (2) savings, and (3) budgeting. The results of Henegar’s research indicated that homeschooling parents need to become better prepared to teach their children about money, and that personal finance should be thought of as a core subject in the elementary age years, rather than being viewed merely as a life skill. Further, personal finance tends to be focused upon to a greater extent in the elementary and high school years, with little attention to personal financial behaviors for the middle school age group.
Research at http://hdl.handle.net/2097/17632
Henegar is vice president and client relationship manager at Merrill Lynch in San Antonio, TX. Major professor: Kristy L. Archuleta, Ph.D., LMFT.
The first graduates of the PFP doctoral program and their current jobs are:
- Julie A. Cumbie (Summer 2012), assistant professor in the College of Business at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond;
- Ronald A. Sages, AEP®, CFP®, CTFA, EA (Fall, 2012), instructor in the PFP master’s program at K-State; and
- Mary Bell, CFP® (Summer, 2013), director at the National Association of Counties in Washington, DC.
The sixth doctoral cohort will commence their studies this summer on the K-State campus in Manhattan.