Michael Kitces is the most respected and sought after blogger in the financial planning world. I was very honored that he asked to interview me.  Here is his in-depth interview with lots of personal surprises, and some inspiration for every listener on how to live into their dreams of freedom.

Listen to Mike Kitces podcast with George Kinder

This week’s guest is George Kinder, who is known to most as the “father” of the life planning – a way of holistically delivering financial planning that focuses on delving into clients’ real goals, beyond just their financial concerns, in an effort to help them use their money to deliver freedom into their lives.

What’s fascinating about George, though, is that he didn’t start out trying to create a movement towards life planning. George was actually a math major at Harvard, who then became a CPA (and earned the Bronze Medal for the third highest score in his entire state on the CPA exam!), and only began to explore the intersections between financial planning and psychology after forming a niche financial advisory practice delivering advanced tax strategies for self-employed psychologists and therapists!

What you will learn in this podcast:

  • George went from being a Math major at Harvard, to doing tax returns as a CPA, and ultimately transitioning into financial planning. [2:14]
  • Why George believes that “freedom” is the most important aspect of personal and professional motivations. [5:51]
  • George’s definition of life planning: The most efficient process for delivering freedom into a person’s life. [7:13]
  • How life planning is distinct from the short- and long-term goals financial planners often pursue. [10:05]
  • George’s three life planning questions he asks of new clients, and their typical answers. [14:38]
  • How to work up to asking weighty, personal, and potentially awkward questions of your clients. [26:33]
  • Two of George’s most important questions for clients: why are you here? And who do you want to be? [28:23]
  • Why George always ended his first meeting with a soft sell, which often has clients dying to work with him right away anyway. [35:49]
  • How the concept of life planning was initially popularized, and why it resonates with financial planners in particular. [44:48]
  • Whether financial planning and life planning are complementary goals or on opposite ends of the planning spectrum. [57:17]
  • What George hopes for the future of financial planning, and how we could improve the CFP curriculum around the world. [1:00:28]
  • George’s thoughts on potential changes to the economy and society at large that would better align our lives with the goals of life planning. [1:08:41]

https://www.kitces.com/blog/category/21-financial-advisor-success-podcast/

Mike Kitces, A Nerd’s Eye View at www.kitces.com