Paul Byron Hill, MBA, MFP, MSFS, ChFC®, RICP®, CFP® is a nationally recognized Wealth Management Certified Professional™ and Certified Financial Planner™ professional. Over nearly 40 years, he has garnered a trusted reputation for his expertise as a leader in the development of financial planning as a profession and wealth management practice. His interest in financial services begin after his father, a decorated World War II and Korean War veteran, was disabled while in service and the family suffered a period of hardship. In choosing a career related to financial security, Mr. Hill was among the first practitioners with a professional financial planning credential to form an independent firm focused on best interests of clients.
His early disappointment with providing successful financial experiences led Mr. Hill to attend a leading business school as part of a career change. His finance concentration exposed him to great ideas in economics emerging from the science of capital markets. Mr. Hill’s thinking changed, and those academic ideas would change an entire industry in time. Forming a fiduciary firm early on that adopted and applied that new thinking and growing evidence to people’s lives, Mr. Hill innovated a financial and wealth planning process that reliably realized clients’ needs and goals.
Mr. Hill began his formal education at the University of Rochester, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in English literature. Subsequently he obtained a Master of Science in financial services from The American College. In his second academic phase, Mr. Hill attended the William E. Simon Graduate Business School also at the University of Rochester and then the College for Financial Planning now with the University of Phoenix, where he earned a Master of Business Administration in finance and a Master of Science in financial planning, respectively.
Mr. Hill’s financial planning career formally started in 1984 as the principal of Hill Financial Advisors for the next ten years. In 1993 after completing his MBA, he founded Professional Financial Strategies, Inc. to provide advanced retirement planning and comprehensive wealth management. He continues to serve as chief executive officer and president, in addition to working closely with a modest group of clients. He has been an adjunct faculty member for the College for Financial Planning. Mr. Hill holds numerous professional credentials in addition to the Certified Financial Planner®, including Retirement Income Certified Professional® and Wealth Management Certified Professional®.
Reuters once named Mr. Hill among the Top Advisors in the U.S. and featured him on a website video. He and his firm have been written about in Forbes, Fortune, and Bloomberg Business. As co-author of Retire Abundantly, James Malinchak of ABC’s “The Secret Millionaire” interviewed him. Mr. Hill continues to be an editor of and writer for “Planning Perspectives.” He maintains professional affiliations for continuing education with the Financial Planning Association and the National Society of Accountants. Formerly active in the Gideons International, he served as a chapter president. Lastly, Who’s Who has presented Mr. Hill with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and more recently their Distinguished Humanitarian Award.