George Kinder: Fiduciary Advocate Spotlight + Interview
A Personal Introduction
Allan opens by reflecting on how his introduction to George Kinder came in stages — which, he notes, is how it happens for most people in this industry. He first became familiar with the Kinder Institute of Life Planning around 15 years ago, when Fee-Only Network began showcasing the RLP® (Registered Life Planner®) designation on advisor profiles. He understood what the Institute stood for — advancing the practice of whole-life financial planning, putting the client's life at the center of their financial plan — well before he fully appreciated the reach and influence of the person who founded it.
The more Allan learned about George's work, the more he came to appreciate that George's advocacy runs in two directions simultaneously: toward the thousands of financial advisors he has trained globally in life planning methodology, and toward the investors those advisors serve, whose lives he has spent decades fighting to place at the center of the planning process. Allan credits Dave Bromelkamp of AdvisorSmart with making the personal introduction between the two of them, noting that it was only then that he began to grasp the full weight of what George has built over more than 30 years.
"The average investor may not be familiar with George Kinder, but his deep purpose and the philosophies he has instilled in thousands of advisors have created a ripple effect felt far beyond the financial planning profession." — Allan Slider, Founder, Fee-Only Network
About George Kinder
A Harvard graduate and CPA — earning the Bronze Medal in Massachusetts on the National Uniform CPA exam in 1975 — George began his career in tax practice in Cambridge, MA, before spending 30 years as a practicing financial planner and tax adviser. In 1994, he co-founded The Nazrudin Project, an influential think tank of national financial advisers dedicated to exploring the human and spiritual dimensions of money and personal finance. His transition from practitioner to full-time advocate and educator gave rise to one of the most respected institutions in the financial planning world: the Kinder Institute of Life Planning, established in 2003.
A Career Built on a Simple, Radical Idea — What Is Financial Life Planning?
Financial Life Planning is a client-centered methodology that begins with the life a client most wants to live — not with a portfolio or tax analysis. Practitioners trained by the Kinder Institute use structured conversation and deep listening to surface what clients truly value, then build financial strategies in service of those goals. The approach is widely credited with shifting the professional conversation from "what do you have?" to "what do you want your life to be?"
George is the author of three foundational works in financial life planning: The Seven Stages of Money Maturity (1999), Lighting the Torch (2006), and Life Planning for You (2014) — books considered essential reading for both professionals and consumers who want to understand money's deeper relationship to a well-lived life. His thought leadership extends beyond finance into mindfulness, poetry, and photography, reflecting a philosophy that the best financial planning is inseparable from a broader understanding of what it means to thrive.
Recognition and Influence
Among his many honors, George received the Financial Planning Association's first Heart of Financial Planning Award in 2006, the Transparency Task Force's Transparency Trophy in 2017, and was named one of the "20 People Who Shaped the Financial Planning Industry" by InvestmentNews in 2019. His expertise has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Time, and the Financial Times, among many others.
Beyond Finance: Fiduciary In All Things
George's most recent initiative, Fiduciary In All Things (FIAT), extends the fiduciary principle well beyond financial services. It envisions a world where every institution — government, business, education, medicine — acts as a fiduciary to the people it serves, placing truth, humanity, democracy, and the health of the planet ahead of profit or power. Allan frames it as entirely consistent with the work George has done for three decades: the conviction that the same care a fiduciary financial advisor owes a client is, at its core, the same care every institution owes every human being it touches.
Resources Mentioned
Initiatives & Organizations
Fiduciary In All Things (FIAT) — George's legislative initiative extending the fiduciary standard to every institution that touches a human life
Kinder Institute of Life Planning — training programs, the RLP® designation, and research on financial life planning methodology
George Kinder's personal website — writing, photography, and mindfulness work
A Golden Civilization — George's broader civilization-focused project and newsletter
Life Planning for You — a free DIY life planning tool built on George's methodology, available directly to consumers
Books
The Three Domains of Freedom — George's newest book on personal and civilizational freedom
The Seven Stages of Money Maturity (1999) — the foundational work on money's psychological and spiritual dimensions
Lighting the Torch (2006) — a training guide for advisors in the Kinder Method of life planning
Life Planning for You (2014) — the consumer-facing DIY life planning guide, co-written with Mary Rowland
A Golden Civilization and The Map of Mindfulness — on mindfulness, economics, democracy, and freedom
Transforming Suffering into Wisdom — a mindfulness and meditation guide
Reflections on Spectacle Pond — a free weekly email series of poetry, photography, and meditative writing
About the Author
Allan Slider is the Founder of FeeOnlyNetwork.com, a digital platform that elevates the visibility of fee-only financial advisors who are compensated only by their clients and never by commission. Allan is a consumer and investor advocate and a 20+ year veteran of online marketing for financial advisors.