Biography

Benjamin F. Cummings, Ph.D., CFP(R), is an Associate Professor and Faculty Director of the Master of Financial Planning & Analytics (MFPA) program at Utah Valley University. He is also a Partner at Blue Barn Wealth. Benjamin has completed award-winning research and has been quoted in the media, including in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, MarketWatch, and USA Today. Previously, he taught at the American College and Saint Joseph's University and served as Scholar in Residence at CFP Board. Benjamin received a B.S. in Psychology from Utah State University and a Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University. When not working, Benjamin enjoys spending time with his wonderful family and volunteering for his church.

Education

PhD, Texas Tech University, 2013

Major: Personal Financial Planning

BS, Utah State University, 2007

Major: Psychology

Teaching

FIN 689R

Internship, Fall 2024

FIN 3400

Investment Management, Fall 2024

FIN 5800

Personal Financial Planning Capstone, Fall 2024

FIN 6450

Planning for Financial Planning Business Owners, Fall 2024

FIN 3100

Principles of Finance, Fall 2024

FIN 3400

Investment Management, Spring 2024

FIN 5800

Personal Financial Planning Capstone, Spring 2024

FIN 3100

Principles of Finance, Spring 2024

Presentations

Cummings, Benjamin , Teaching & Research Development Symposium, "Hosting a Financial Planning Career Day", Personal Financial Planning Department at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. (February, 2017)
Cummings, Benjamin , Teaching & Research Development Symposium, "The Latest Research in Behavioral Finance", Personal Financial Planning Department at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. (February, 2017)
Cummings, Benjamin , Guillemette, Michael , Martin, Terrance , James, Russell , Annual conference, "Beyond the credentials_ Selecting professional financial advice", Academy of Financial Services, Las Vegas, NV. (October, 2016)
Cummings, Benjamin , Browning, Christopher , Annual conference, "Equity allocation decisions during the Great Recession", Academy of Behavioral Finance & Economics, Philadelphia, PA. (September, 2015)
Cummings, Benjamin , Registered Program Conference, "Assurance of Learning across the Curriculum", CFP Board, Washington, DC. (August, 2015)
Cummings, Benjamin , Registered Program Conference, "Hosting a Financial Planning Career Day", CFP Board, Washington, DC. (August, 2015)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Heist, H Daniel, Farwell, Megan M, Cummings, Benjamin F, Cnaan, Ram A, Andrews, Erinn , Shamash, Rebecca , (2023) "Tubs, Tanks, and Towers_ Donor Strategies for DAF Giving" (Issue: 4, vol. 33). Nonprofit Management & Leadership. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21544
Cummings, Benjamin , Chaffin, Charles , (2022) "Perceptions of financial advisors regarding factors that affect the development of planning and client communication techniques in practice" (Issue: 8, vol. 76). Journal of Financial Service Professionals. https://discovery.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=e4b5912b-7420-3955-b28a-70ab685bb6c8
Heller, Jason E, Cummings, Benjamin F, Martin, Jason , McCrae, Melisande , (2022) "Distribution channel effects on advisor managed investment performance" (Issue: 2, vol. 30). Financial Services Review. https://ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=158989667&site=eds-live
Heist, H Dan, Farwell, Megan M, Cummings, Benjamin F, Cnaan, Ram A, Andrews, Erinn , Shamash, Rebecca , (2022) "Understanding the donor-advised fund giving process_ Insights from current DAF users" (Issue: 2, vol. 51). Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640211011248
Cummings, Benjamin , James, Russell , (2022) "The impact of financial advisors on the subsequent wealth of older adults" (Issue: 1, vol. 21). Journal of Personal Finance. https://ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/impact-financial-advisors-on-subsequent-wealth/docview/2649766432/se-2?accountid=14779
Clontz, Bryan , Cummings, Benjamin , "An inferential approach to derive the U.S. charitable gift annuity market scale and scope" . Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.

Awards

Faculty Excellence Award

Faculty Senate - April, 2023

The purpose of the Faculty Senate Faculty Excellence Award is to recognize full-time and adjunct faculty who have made significant contributions to UVU's mission through demonstrated excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.

40 Under 40

InvestmentNews - June, 2019

Northwestern Mutual Best Paper Award in Insurance and Risk Management

CFP Board's Center for Financial Planning - February, 2019

AFCPE® Journal Article of the Year Award

Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) - November, 2015

CFP Board Best Paper Award

Academy of Financial Services (AFS) - October, 2013

CFP Board’s ACCI Financial Planning Paper Award

American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI) - May, 2013