Rui Yao, Ph.D.

Rui Yao, Ph.D., is a certified financial planner, professor of personal financial planning and director of graduate studies in the department of personal financial planning at the University of Missouri. She received her doctoral degree from The Ohio State University. Her research interests focus on individual and household financial decision-making and well-being. Specific topics include retirement preparation, saving and investment behavior and motives, risk tolerance, debt management, and consumption patterns. She received the best paper award from the Certified Financial Planning Board, AARP, American Council on Consumer Interests, and American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. Yao serves on the editorial board and as a reviewer for a number of academic journals and conferences. She has been committed to working with the China Center for Financial Research in Tsinghua University of China and is a member of the research team on their first national survey of Chinese Consumer Finance and Investor Education.