Richard B. Wagner

History of Richard B. Wagner, JD, CFP

Dick Wagner has been a major thought leader in the financial planning profession since moving away from the practice of law in 1982.  A principal in Sharkey, Howes, Wagner & Javer, Inc. from 1990 through 2000 and its predecessor firm Wagner/Howes Financial, Wagner began WorthLiving LLC with the mission of focusing on relationships between humans and money.

Wagner has been a leader, both politically and intellectually.  He was on the Board of Directors of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the International Association of Financial Planning from 1984 to 1988 including service as President and Chairman of the Board.  In 1989 he was appointed to the National Committee of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners and continued to serve as President of that organization in 1993.  Along the way, he has served on countless committees and task forces for the various financial planning associations and the CFP Board of Standards, including the Financial Planning Association’s “Fiduciary Task Force” in 2008 and as ICFP Retreat Dean in 1995.

In 1989, Wagner wrote a seminal piece for the Journal of Financial Planning entitled “To Think…Like a CFP” that remains a leading aspirational expression of the financial planning profession and its importance to the modern world.  He has been a regular contributor to Financial Advisor Magazine for over ten years.  (See “Financial Advisor Magazine” articles.)

After teaching several classes addressing “Money and the Human Experience,” Wagner and George Kinder, CFP® co-founded the Nazrudin Project.  The Nazrudin Project has been a leading contributor to the intellectual and values development of the financial planning profession.

Wagner’s service was recognized by his peers in 2003 when he received the P. Kemp Fain, Jr. Award distinguishing an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the financial planning profession.

He graduated with honors from the College of Wooster in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion.  He graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1977 and received the rights to use the CFP® trademarks in 1987.