“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” — Benjamin Franklin For too long, pension savers have suffered in silence. Hidden in complex schemes, offshore obfuscation, and regulatory inaction, financial crime against savers continues to unfold—often with devastating consequences for those who trusted the system to … Continue reading 🛡️ Victims of Pension Crime: Know Your Rights, Reclaim Your Power →

More than a decade of frustration. Hundreds of millions in alleged losses. Thousands of UK expats left without redress. A powerful new article by Professional Adviser lifts the lid on the ongoing class actions against Friends Provident International and Utmost International in the Isle of Man. It details how commission-driven offshore pension schemes—sold by unregulated … Continue reading ⚖️ QROPS Class Actions: Scaling Litigation, Systemic Failures, and the Fight for Reform →

By Steve ConleyFounder, Academy of Life Planning29 May 2025 “It’s surprising that a firm embroiled in legacy QROPS servicing under a now-absconded fraudster is being allowed to scale without apparent accountability or public regulatory comment.” That may be an understatement. This week, Mattioli Woods announced its merger with Kingswood Group, creating a £25 billion financial … Continue reading Scaling Without Scrutiny: Why We Must Question the Mattioli Woods Merger →

By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning Imagine this: You work your whole life, build a nest egg, and entrust it to what you believe is a legitimate, regulated pension scheme. Then it vanishes—offshore, unauthorised, untraceable. And when you reach out to the UK’s financial regulator for help, they not only deflect responsibility but … Continue reading The Door Slammed Shut: When the Regulator Fails the Victim →

Every year, over $1 billion in shareholder value quietly vanishes from the global financial system—not through fraud or error, but through inertia, complexity, and silent inefficiencies in corporate actions. This is particularly true in scrip dividends, where shareholders are given the option to receive either cash or shares. The tragedy? In most cases, the stock … Continue reading When Transparency Threatens Profit: The Ethics of Scrip Dividend Optimisation →

Fifteen years ago, as Head of Investments at HSBC, I had already delivered six market firsts and six market leader positions. But none of that mattered when I entered the next “season” of my career. The slate was wiped clean. “We want bigger and better,” they said. It was clear: results didn’t matter if they … Continue reading The Trustworthy Adviser in a Rigged System: A Soul-Led Rebellion →