By Steve Conley
In 1979, during my fresher week at Bristol University, I was approached in the Union building by an Endsleigh Insurance representative. He had the university’s approval to speak to students about financial education. He told me that opening a savings account was a good idea. Right there and then, he set one up for me. I later discovered that what I had actually been sold was a without-profits whole-of-life insurance policy. It had no surrender value, and after paying seven months’ premiums, I lapsed it, receiving nothing in return. There was no complaints procedure in those days. I blame the university for allowing commission-hungry salesmen to prey on students in fresher week. I was already struggling financially, even taking on a bar job to cover rent shortfalls, and the added burden meant I could not complete my first year.
This experience left me with a deep distrust of financial product salesmen. Now, decades later, I read about Hargreaves Lansdown embedding itself within Bristol University under the guise of financial education, and I see history repeating itself. This is a massive red flag.
The ‘5 to Thrive’ Framework: A Product Sales Pipeline
Hargreaves Lansdown has partnered with Bristol University to deliver a financial wellbeing course based on its ‘5 to Thrive’ framework. At first glance, this might seem like a positive initiative. However, a closer look reveals that each of the five pillars conveniently aligns with a financial product that Hargreaves Lansdown stands to profit from:
- Control Your Debt – Loans
- Protect You and Your Family – Insurance
- Save a Penny for a Rainy Day – Savings Accounts
- Plan for Later Life – Pensions
- Invest to Make More of Your Money – Investment Products
There is one glaring omission from this framework: human capital. Students’ greatest asset is their ability to earn, grow their skills, and develop their careers. Yet this financial education course makes no mention of salary negotiation, career planning, or maximising earning potential. Instead, it directs students towards financial products that benefit the provider first and the consumer last.
A Dangerous Precedent
Bristol University’s partnership with Hargreaves Lansdown sets a dangerous precedent. Under the guise of financial wellbeing, students are being nudged towards a commercial relationship with a financial institution. While Hargreaves Lansdown claims the course will help students manage their finances, in reality, it is creating future customers. The university’s endorsement lends credibility to a financial services firm, making it easier to establish trust and long-term relationships with young, financially vulnerable individuals.
This mirrors what happened to me in 1979. A trusted university environment was exploited to facilitate financial product sales, ultimately harming students. Today’s students face even greater financial pressures than I did, with rising living costs and student debt at record levels. They need genuine financial education, not disguised marketing.
What Needs to Change?
- Universities Must Take Responsibility
Bristol University, and others considering similar partnerships, must recognise the conflict of interest in allowing financial services firms to provide so-called education. Universities should prioritise impartial, product-neutral financial education that genuinely equips students for financial independence. - Regulators Must Step In
The financial services sector has a history of embedding product sales within advice and education. The FCA and other regulators should ensure that financial wellbeing courses run by commercial providers are fully transparent about their conflicts of interest. - Financial Education Must Focus on Human Capital
Rather than pushing financial products, financial education should teach students how to:- Negotiate salaries effectively
- Build multiple income streams
- Manage their careers strategically
- Develop entrepreneurial thinking
- Achieve financial independence through skill development
- Students and Universities Must Be Vigilant
If a financial services firm is offering “education”, students and universities should ask: Who benefits? Real financial education empowers individuals to make informed decisions. If it steers students towards specific products, it’s not education—it’s marketing.
A Lesson from the Past
My experience in 1979 taught me that financial product sales disguised as education can have devastating consequences. Today’s students deserve better. Bristol University and its students must be aware of the risks involved in Hargreaves Lansdown’s involvement in financial education. If history has taught us anything, it is that financial firms don’t offer free education out of generosity—they do it to gain lifelong customers.
True financial education should focus on empowerment, not sales. Universities must do better.
Academy of Life Planning 