I became a financial planner because I wanted to help people. Not to sell them things. Not to push them down a funnel. But to see them walk away lighter, more confident, and more in control of their lives.
The truth is, that’s harder than it sounds. Our industry is built on the gravitational pull of product sales. Providers fund research, run campaigns, and talk about closing the “advice gap.” But all too often, the goal is the same: find the pain, and sell the cure — in the form of something on their product shelf.
I’ve read the research. Only 9% of people sought financial advice in the past two years. That means 91% didn’t. That’s not because they’re all fine on their own — it’s because they don’t trust us.
And I can’t blame them.
- 12 million people in the UK feel overwhelmed or stressed about their finances.
- 40% of adults with loans or credit are living with constant debt anxiety.
- 3.8 million retirees worry their savings won’t last their lifetime.
This isn’t a market opportunity. This is a crisis of confidence. People don’t need to be “converted” into customers — they need someone in their corner.
What We Must Learn
If I’m to be the planner I set out to be, I need to master more than product knowledge. I need to:
- Understand the psychology of money — how fear, shame, and uncertainty block good decisions.
- Coach, not just advise — guiding clients to their own clarity and action plans.
- Spot the trust gaps — the moments when a client hesitates, not because they don’t understand the numbers, but because they don’t believe the system works for them.
- Navigate without conflict — knowing how to deliver value without relying on commission, bonuses, or sales targets.
What We Must Do
Serving the client starts with resisting the urge to fix their problem with a product. Sometimes, the best service is a plan, a conversation, or a skill they can take away and use without me.
That means:
- Easing anxiety by making the complex simple.
- Building confidence by helping clients see what they can control and act on today.
- Rebuilding trust by being radically transparent about what I do, how I’m paid, and whose side I’m on.
I’ve learned that an “advised sale” and a “non-advised sale” are often the same thing in different clothes. As we say in the North: “It’s the same dog, washed.” If the end goal is to sell, it’s still selling. And if I give in to that, I’m part of the problem.
The Planner’s Choice
Every planner has to choose: do we serve the client’s agenda or the product provider’s agenda? There’s no middle ground when trust is at stake.
I choose to serve the client.
I choose to measure my success not by assets under management, but by lives under empowerment.
And I choose to believe that in the long run, doing the right thing — even when it’s hard — is the only sustainable business model worth building.
💬 “There should be a wall, between advice and products, between advice and large institutions, and between our regulators and large institutions. We need an integrity that is impeccable. Until we actually institute a way of bringing good heart, great integrity and a fiduciary relationship that is sustainable into the industry, we are going to fail. We have to make this change, and we have to make it now.”
— George D. Kinder
This timeless call for independence in financial advice still rings true today. It speaks to the urgent need to separate genuine financial guidance from product sales and institutional influence, building trust through sustainable fiduciary relationships.
📌 George Kinder himself added to this recently:
“I now think it’s time to address directly the elephant in the room — the institutions themselves. It’s time for us to challenge them, and to ultimately insist that they become fiduciaries themselves, fiduciaries in all things — to truth, to democracy, to the planet and to humanity. Without institutions as sworn Fiduciaries In All Things (FIAT), our system carries the seeds of its own destruction.”
The message is clear: we must build walls where conflicts of interest erode trust — and demand that institutions themselves serve the greater good.
#FinancialJustice #FiduciaryDuty #IntegrityInFinance #SystemReform #AoLP #GetSAFE
Join the Academy: Your Next Chapter Beyond Regulation
You’ve spent years inside the regulated advice world.
Now it’s time to step beyond product sales — and into a role where your skill, experience, and integrity work entirely for the client, not the commission sheet.
The old model kept clients dependent, in the dark, and paying for product services.
The new era is about clarity, confidence, and conscious choice — for both you and the people you serve.
What You’ll Gain
Empowered Planning
Leave the sales pitch behind. Guide clients with flat-fee, jargon-free advice that gives them full control over their decisions and their destiny.
Purpose-Led Practice
Turn your career capital into a values-driven enterprise. Whether you serve as an educator, a mentor, or a sounding board, you’ll create impact without conflict of interest.
Conscious Leadership
Move beyond the compliance treadmill into the Aquarian age of planning — where financial wisdom meets soul purpose and your work becomes a legacy.
How To Begin
Step into the AoLP Community
→ Aaccess to resources, events, and a peer network redefining the future of planning.
→ Community Link
Book a Discovery Call
→ Explore how to align your practice with purpose — 15 minute free chat with Steve Conley.
→ Booking Page
Try The Taster
→ Take a look at a training module they didn’t teach you at adviser school – just £4.99.
→ Try the GAME Plan Taster
The future isn’t built on percentage fees.
It’s built on purpose, participation, and personal agency — for clients and for you.
Academy of Life Planning 