In today’s rapidly evolving financial services landscape, many aspiring financial planners find themselves disillusioned with traditional career pathways that focus on sales targets and commission-based incentives. At the Academy of Life Planning, we offer a different approach—one that champions the role of the financial planner as an independent professional, not a product salesperson. Here, you … Continue reading Financial Planner Engagement: A Pathway to Professional Success Without Product Selling
Month: October 2024
The Comfortable Lie of Bundling Advice and Product
There’s a silent deception happening in the financial advice industry—one that blends the lines between advice and product sales. This is where advisers, who double as product distributors, create what they call "adviser alpha." The supposed value they claim to add often revolves around investment management. Yet, retail investment management has long been commoditised, with … Continue reading The Comfortable Lie of Bundling Advice and Product
Is there a universal law guiding our life’s pathway, and does following it bring ease and grace?
Is there a universal law guiding our life’s pathway, and does following it bring ease and grace? Many spiritual, religious, and philosophical traditions suggest that each of us is on a life path, one that is either chosen by our spirit before birth or guided by a higher power. This path is meant for our … Continue reading Is there a universal law guiding our life’s pathway, and does following it bring ease and grace?
Exploring the Threshold Hypothesis: Can More Money Really Buy Happiness?
For years, we’ve been told that money can’t buy happiness. But if that’s the case, why do so many of us strive to earn more, save more, and invest more? What if there’s a point where income does contribute to happiness, but only up to a certain level? This question has been explored in depth … Continue reading Exploring the Threshold Hypothesis: Can More Money Really Buy Happiness?
What the Financial Advice Industry Can Learn from MiFID II’s Unbundling of Research and Trading
In 2018, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) brought about significant reforms in the institutional investment world by mandating the unbundling of research and trading costs. Before this, asset managers often paid for both services through opaque, bundled fees, which obscured the true cost to clients. MiFID II forced these costs to … Continue reading What the Financial Advice Industry Can Learn from MiFID II’s Unbundling of Research and Trading
AI in Financial Services: A Double-Edged Sword for the Underserved
The firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) play a critical role as manufacturers and distributors of retail financial products. However, only 8% of the population can afford to access these services via intermediaries, leaving 92% underserved. This gap has led many distributors to explore new ways to reach this community, and artificial intelligence … Continue reading AI in Financial Services: A Double-Edged Sword for the Underserved
Stamping Out Investment Fraud: The Case for Separating Advice and Product Sales
Investment fraud remains a serious problem, with millions of pounds lost to fraudsters every year. In the first half of 2024 alone, £56.4 million was stolen, despite a 29% drop in the number of investment scams compared to last year. While some progress has been made, the truth is, we're not moving fast enough. The … Continue reading Stamping Out Investment Fraud: The Case for Separating Advice and Product Sales
ChatGPT Remembers You! An Exploration of the New Memory Feature
In today’s fast-paced world, solo entrepreneurs are juggling countless tasks at once. It can be overwhelming to manage everything without missing a beat. That’s where AI tools like ChatGPT’s new memory feature come into play—a groundbreaking capability designed to remember key details from your previous conversations, making your work life smoother and more efficient. For … Continue reading ChatGPT Remembers You! An Exploration of the New Memory Feature
Human Capital Development: A Pathway to Financial Independence
With over 400,000 people facing cuts to their benefits, including those with mobility and mental health issues, it’s easy to feel like the system is failing us. Recent policy changes mean that many who were previously considered unfit for work will now be expected to seek employment, while seeing their financial support reduced. This is … Continue reading Human Capital Development: A Pathway to Financial Independence
Discover Your Core Values with the Schwartz Values Assessment: A Path to More Meaningful Life Decisions
Celebrating World Values Day 2024: Discover Your Core Values with the Schwartz Values Assessment Thursday, 17th October 2024 marks World Values Day, a day dedicated to celebrating and embracing the values that guide us. Values are the passions in our hearts, the motivations behind our actions, and the glue that binds us together as communities. … Continue reading Discover Your Core Values with the Schwartz Values Assessment: A Path to More Meaningful Life Decisions
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