Bob Schumann started his professional life as a third generation academic, professor and minister. He holds three graduate degrees in totally unrelated fields (MDiv MA MBA) and has 50 years of experience in the personal development field. His favorite title is “Grandpa”.
His interest in psychology began at age 13 when his Dad asked him to help raise his six younger siblings while his Mom was being treated for manic depression and borderline schizophrenia.
Bob’s interest in economics and capital markets began in 1983 while working on a PhD in Biblical languages at the UW-Madison. His new insurance agent had persuaded him to exchange his 4th “permanent” cash value life insurance policy for a new one. About the same time a friend asked him a great question: “Why is a bachelor with no dependents, investing money in life insurance?”
Not knowing who to trust he began to read books on investing at the same time he was writing his dissertation on the semantic field for believe. To his amazement he discovered that money is emotion and energy because it’s whatever we believe will measure or hold the exchange of value! The original Latin word credit means he or she believes! Consumer confidence is the force that drives the economy. When it comes to money “In God We Trust!”
Bob learned 13 different languages, most of them dead ones, but never finished his thesis. He turned his hobby into an avocation after he became financially independent at age 42. He knew if he could do it on a minister’s salary of $9000/year, anyone could. His dream was to be the Henry Ford of fiduciary investment advice so he enrolled at the Ohio State University to get a PhD in capital markets. There he was mentored by professors who had been PhD students of Nobel laureates Harry Markowitz (1990), Robert Merton (1997) and Eugene Fama (2013).
He founded and sold his first company, Cambridge Financial Advisors, LLC. He is a co-founder and minority owner of the Israeli tech company, FinancialAdvice4Me. He is the founder of Plan & Act and its sister firm, The Pension 401k, LLC.
As a Professional Plan Consultant® and Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst ® he provides fiduciary training to retirement plans, corporations, foundations, endowments, non-profits and fellow investment advisors who have been entrusted with the management of other peoples’ money. He provides assessments that can lead to CEFEX Certification, the most recognized seal of conformity to a global standard of fiduciary excellence (www.cefex.org).
He is a financial coach, Certified Financial Planner® and retired Enrolled Agent.
After the crash of 2008-2009 Business Week listed him as #1 of the top 50 most experienced fiduciary advisors out of 10,000 as scored on a 100 point system. Bob is also active in the Robbins-Madanes Training Center and volunteers his time as a Senior Leader at Tony Robbins events.
He and his clients have been quoted in numerous print and online publications including The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Smart Money, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Money Magazine, MSN Money, the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Business First and the Chaffee County Times. TV appearances include the WCMH Channel 4 News and the NBC TODAY Show. He is a contributor to Tips from the Top--Targeted Advice from America's Top Money Minds, edited by Edie Milligan and published by Alpha, 2003.
He and 2 of his 4 children and 4 of his 6 grandchildren live in Buena Vista, CO.