Instructors

Kenneth J. Zahn, CFP®

Kenneth J. Zahn's career as a financial planner spans over thirty years. During this time, he has been involved in fee-based planning as well as management of a variety of insurance and investment products for individuals, small businesses, and professionals.

Ken earned two degrees from Purdue University, BS Electrical Engineering and BS Industrial Management. After working ten years in engineering sales and management, he entered the financial service industry.

Ken served as an adjunct faculty member for the College of Financial Planning in Denver, Colorado, from 1986 through 2001. He has taught the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERô educational courses as well as various courses nationally through the National Institute of Finance. In addition, Ken has conducted intensive reviews for the ten-hour comprehensive exam of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. since 1995.

Ken was an original founding officer of the Tampa Bay Society of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners in the early 1980s. Today, he is an active member of the Financial Planning Association of Tampa Bay. Since 1990, Ken has developed continuing education courses for insurance agents and financial planners.

Ken has served as an NASD arbitrator and an expert witness for both the plaintiff and defendant in financial planning cases.

Tyler Nace, CFP®

Tyler Nace has enjoyed helping people make wise decisions in the financial services industry since 2003. He provides clients with sound investment strategies to build wealth through comprehensive financial planning. Tyler works closely with clients in order to thoroughly understand their goals, objectives, and underlying financial positions. In doing so, he is able to lead his clients through the phases of wealth, from accumulation to preservation to distribution.

Tyler is a Raymond James Financial Advisor at Southwestern Investment Group, Inc. Southwestern Investment Group, Inc. is a fully-owned subsidiary of The Southwestern Company, one of the oldest and largest privately held companies in Nashville, Tennessee. In fact, The Southwestern Company was incorporated in Nashville in 1868.

Through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., Tyler provides investment and financial planning. One extremely important aspect of our firm is that we are an independent firm. By being completely independent, our allegiance is with the client and not with any particular product as we have no proprietary funds or products.

In July of 2011, Tyler passed the CFP examination. He was an online student of the Zahn education curriculum at the Tallahassee Community College and also attended the Zahn live review. Shortly after passing the CFP Examination, he began teaching the Zahn CFP curriculum at the University of Dallas.

Tyler graduated from the University of North Carolina ñ Chapel Hill with a degree in business administration and finance. Tyler enjoys volunteering his time teaching Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at his local church, as well as spending time with his family. He is an avid runner and enjoys cooking without a recipe.

Ryan Olson, CFP®

Ryan Olson has enjoyed participating in the dynamic financial services for over a decade. He started his career teaching financial principles to young professionals for a large financial services firm. Shortly thereafter, he traveled the country helping individuals set and achieve their retirement goals. He currently acts as a retirement benefits consultant for mid- to large corporations. He enjoys being with his family and loves the outdoors. Ryan resides in the Dallas/Forth Worth metroplex with his wife, son and daughter.

Mr. Olson is a Certified Financial Planner, received a Bachelor of Science from Brigham Young University and holds the FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Brandon Truitt, CFP®

Brandon has worked at Fidelity Investments for over ten years in a variety of leadership and individual producer roles, most of which have focused on high net worth investors.  Currently he manages about 15 Guidance Associates with Fidelity's High Net Worth Workplace Guidance Team.  The team address a myriad of investment issues specializing in various employee benefit plans like, DC plans, DB plans, company stock and option plans, and employer insurance programs as well as all of Fidelity's personal investing products, accounts, and services.

Brandon passed his CFP on the first attempt and attributes 100% of his success on the exam to the preparation provided Ken Zahn's curriculum.  Brandon is currently working towards a Master's of Science in Financial Planning to go along with his Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.  Brandon attended high school at McNeil High School in Round Rock, Texas, where he played football, soccer, and tennis and was both a National AP Scholar and a National Merit Scholar.

In his spare time Brandon likes to read, write, play tennis, and work on home improvement projects. 

If you would like to speak to a program advisor, please contact Jennifer Howard by e-mail or call (972) 721-5299.  For additional information regarding the actual exam go to www.cfp.net/become/education.asp