August Hansch; Financial Planning Expert

August C. “Gus” Hansch, an insurance executive who became a pioneer in the financial planning industry and wrote a manual called “Controlling Tomorrow,” has died. He was 76.

Hansch died July 29 in Del Mar after a long respiratory illness.

He and his brothers Walter and Noel and friend Bill McMurry created Hansch Financial Group and the Financial Advisory Clinic, which sell materials through the subsidiary Financial Profiles Inc. They offered the country’s first computerized financial planning software package and now serve about 25,000 financial advisors in all 50 states.

An internationally known speaker on financial planning, Hansch earned his certified financial planner designation in 1977 and soon wrote “Controlling Tomorrow,” a guide for other aspiring planners. He was a regent of the College for Financial Planning in Denver.

Before moving to Los Angeles, where he organized and chaired the Hansch Financial Group, Hansch was an officer of Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. in Dallas.

During his years in Dallas, he helped found the Dallas Cowboys Fan Club and served as its first president.

Hansch served in the Navy Air Command in World War II.

Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Margaret; four sons, Robert, Thomas, Gary and Steven; three brothers, Henry, Walter and Noel; a sister, Joan McMaster; and three grandchildren.

Memorial services are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Rancho Santa Fe Village Community Presbyterian Church in Rancho Santa Fe.