About Ron

Embodying his love of life and adventure, Dr. Ron Rhoades literally hurdled his way as captain of his high school’s track team, played football (and later became an assistant football coach under the late John Rauch, who previously was head coach of the Oakland Raiders), sailed across the Atlantic and back on a tall ship (the USCGC Eagle), performed in road shows in Europe and North America as a Disney Character (and in shows and parades at the Walt Disney World Resort), rowed on a crew team (silver medal, small college NCAA nationals, freshman 8’s), marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, sailed on the U.S.S. Enterprise (aircraft carrier), placed first in competition with a state-championship rifle drill team, escorted numerous celebrities around Central Florida (Rock Hudson and many more) as a show production assistant, undertook a one-week solo canoe trip into The Everglades, performed as a Tin Man at a mountaintop theme park in North Carolina (The Land of Oz), and served as a stage manager and talent scheduling coordinator for entertainment productions at Walt Disney World. And then he graduated college.

Estate Planning Attorney. Dr. Rhoades went on to law school, and following graduation from the University of Florida College of Law, with honors, he has practiced for over 35 years as an attorney, with nearly all of those years substantially devoted to estate planning, transfer tax planning, and the formation and representation of closely held business entities. During this time, he served on the Board of Directors of several local for-profit and not-for-profit business entities and community associations.

Financial Planner and Investment Adviser. Dr. Rhoades has over 20 years of experience as an investment adviser and personal financial planner. For ten years he served as Chief Operating Officer, Director of Research, and Chair of the Investment Committee of a Florida-based investment advisory firm that he co-founded. He now maintains his proficiency in financial planning and investments through his service to select clients as a financial advisor with his own firm, Scholar Financial, LLC.

Service to Professional Associations. Dr. Rhoades currently serves as a volunteer member of the Standards Resource Commission of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., where he chairs its Practice Standards subcommittee. He has served on various committees of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), including as Reporter for its Standards of Conduct and Fiduciary Task Forces. He served on both the National and South Region Board of Directors of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). He serves on the Steering Group of The Committee for the Fiduciary Standard (for which he served as Chair during 2014-5), a voluntary association of leaders of the profession who engage in advocacy on the fiduciary standard for all providers of financial and investment advice. He also serves as a supporter and contributor to The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard and to the Save Our Retirement Coalition.

Advocacy; Books & Articles. Dr. Ron Rhoades is a national authority on fiduciary law as applied to financial planners and investment advisers. He is the author of several books and hundreds of articles published in industry and consumer periodicals. Dr. Rhoades has spoken numerous times at national and regional financial planning conferences, and he often meets with policy makers in Washington, D.C.

Teaching Experience. Dr. Rhoades was the Program Director for the Alfred State College (NY) Financial Planning Program, for four years, prior to his arrival at Western Kentucky University in July 2015. He currently teaches courses in Personal Finance, Applied Investments, Estate Planning, Financial Plan Development (capstone), and Securities Regulation. He has also previously taught: Retirement Planning; Money & Capital Markets; Principles of Finance; Business Law I & II, and Insurance and Risk Management.