PROFESSIONAL

Last Updated 12.27.23

Here's a bio:

David Blanchett, PhD, CFA, CFP®, is Managing Director, Portfolio Manager and Head of Retirement Research for PGIM DC Solutions. PGIM is the global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. In this role, he develops solutions to help improve retirement outcomes for investors with a specific focus on defined contribution plans.  He is also responsible for the portfolio management of the PGIM Target Date Funds. Prior to joining PGIM he was the Head of Retirement Research for Morningstar Investment Management LLC and before that the Director of Consulting and Investment Research for the Retirement Plan Consulting Group at Unified Trust Company.

David has published over 100 papers in a variety of industry and academic journals. His research has received awards from the Academy of Financial Services (2017), the CFP Board (2017), the Financial Analysts Journal (2015), the Financial Planning Association (2020, 2023), the International Centre for Pension Management (2020), the Journal of Financial Planning (2007, 2014, 2015, 2019), the Journal of Financial Services Professionals (2022), and the Retirement Management Journal (2012). He is a regular contributor to the Advisor Perspectives, ThinkAdvisor, and the Wall Street Journal.

He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Wealth Management at The American College of Financial Services, a Research Fellow for the Alliance for Lifetime Income, and on the Editorial Board of the Financial Analysts Journal, Financial Planning Review, and the Journal of Retirement.  He was formally a member of the Executive Committee for the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) and the ERISA Advisory Council (2018-2020). 

In 2021, ThinkAdvisor included him in the IA25 for "pushing the industry forward." In 2014, InvestmentNews included him in their inaugural 40 under 40 list as a “visionary” for the financial planning industry, and in 2014, Money magazine named him one of the brightest minds in retirement planning.

David holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in financial services from The American College of Financial Services, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a doctorate in personal financial planning program from Texas Tech University. 

When David isn’t working, he’s probably out for a jog, playing with his four kids, or rooting for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Here's a photo: