Life Planning guru George Kinder has hit back at critics who have suggested that Life Planning is not 'scientific' enough and relies too much on emotional answers.
The founder of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning said he would disagree with anyone who suggested that the financial consequences of matters such as divorce are not emotional topics and require a comprehensive planning approach.
In an exclusive interview with Financial Planner Magazine's editor Kevin O'Donnell he said: "The passion of those aspirations should be the driving force in any Financial Planning meeting".
The Life Planning guru said: "Apparently some people think money is not an emotional topic, more of a dinner table kind of conversation where one easily shares with others one's income, net worth, the value of one's real estate, inheritances and so on.
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"I suppose they would argue that the financial consequences of divorce are not emotional, or investment losses, that death is not an emotional topic, nor fraud, job losses, theft, disability or inheritance inequities."
He said his "greatest disagreement" with critics would be the assumption that "human aspirations are not emotional, have no passion to them and deserve a strictly scientific approach in the office of a Financial Planner".
He said: "Quite to the contrary, it is our belief that the passion of those aspirations should be the driving force in any Financial Planning meeting.
"Give any client the choice between being scientifically dissected or analysed in a Financial Planner's office or leaving that office exhilarated, confident, trusting and secure in their financial engagement in the world, no one but a robot would want the former."
Mr Kinder says the Life Planning movement is growing around the world and he believes there are tens of thousands worldwide who "believe they are doing some form of Life Planning with their clients".
His influential book Seven Stages of Money Maturity has sold 40,000 copies and the Kinder Institute of Life Planning has trained nearly 2,000 advisers with nearly 400 in the UK and over 1000 in the US. Over 300 have gone through Kinder Institute courses to become Registered Life Planners®.
His new book Life Planning for You: How to Design and Deliver the Life of your Dreams has just been published.
The full interview with Mr Kinder can be read in the latest edition of Financial Planner magazine, the official IFP journal, which is out this week and sent to all members of the IFP. The interview will also be uploaded to this site next week.