Ric Edelman gives $10M to Rowan for financial planning school

Ric Edelman donated $10 million to Rowan University to establish a School of Financial Planning, with classes scheduled to begin this fall at Rowan’s Glassboro, New Jersey, campus. The program aims to produce 500 advisors who are ready to sit for the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exam each year once enrollment scales.

The gift from Edelman Financial Engines will fund the new school’s operations and endowment and support a minor, a major and a master’s degree in financial planning. Edelman will serve as the school’s founding head, responsible for helping select and oversee faculty and shaping a curriculum intended to align with the needs of registered investment advisory firms.

Rowan and Edelman are also launching a Center of Financial Education. The center will allow financial planning students to provide peer-to-peer counseling to the university’s roughly 25,000 undergraduates. The school will partner with the Personal Finance Institute, a nonprofit founded last year by Edelman, to offer professional development for advisors and expand financial literacy programs for children and adults.

Organizers presented the program as a response to growing demand for retirement planning and an aging advisor workforce. About 12,000 Americans turn 65 each day. CFP Board data indicate there are more certified financial planners over age 70 than under 30, and industry consultants estimate roughly 38% of financial advisors could retire within the next decade. Fewer than 200 U.S. colleges awarded financial planning degrees last year, producing about 4,000 graduates, compared with roughly 268,000 degrees in business, accounting, finance and marketing across about 1,500 institutions.

Program founders expect expanding the pipeline to improve access to advice in underserved communities and to help meet rising demand as the population ages. CFP Board data show the field remains majority white and male, with about 80% of advisors identifying as white and roughly 74% as male.

Organizers also cited measures of financial vulnerability. Surveys indicate many adults struggle with basic financial literacy; Federal Reserve data show about one-third of adults could not cover an unexpected $400 expense without borrowing, and a majority would exhaust savings within a few months without income. Research from Transamerica finds roughly 21% of people in their 50s have a written retirement plan. Social Security reports average monthly benefits of just over $2,000, and trustees have warned that benefits could face cuts by 2032 without legislative action.

Edelman Financial Engines manages more than $350 billion for about 1.4 million families, according to the founder’s biography. Edelman invited professionals interested in serving on the faculty, guest lecturing, collaborating on research or providing funding to contact him at [email protected].

Rowan’s College of Business will design the curriculum to prepare students for the CFP exam and for roles at registered investment advisory firms. University and industry leaders expect the program to begin graduating CFP-ready professionals within a few years, with the stated goal of producing 500 new advisors annually once enrollment reaches scale.