Deregulation Across Sectors: The Hidden Risks to People, Planet, and Prosperity We have seen the dangers of deregulation before. In 2008, the global financial crisis cost the world economy an estimated $10 trillion. Beyond the economic damage, research shows it directly contributed to more than 10,000 suicides in Western countries alone. Entire communities lost jobs, … Continue reading The Deregulation Time Machine: From Lehman to Sizewell — Same Plot, Higher Stakes
Month: August 2025
From Jobs Crisis to Growth Crisis: Why the UK Must Shift from Financial Capital to Human Capital Strategies
The latest KPMG and REC survey confirms what many of us have been warning about: the UK labour market is cooling fast. Starting salaries are growing at their slowest rate since March 2021, vacancies are contracting at their fastest pace in over three years, and the availability of workers has surged to levels not seen … Continue reading From Jobs Crisis to Growth Crisis: Why the UK Must Shift from Financial Capital to Human Capital Strategies
The Plot Twist: Option 5 – Retire from Regulation, Not from Clients
When financial advisers start thinking about stepping back, the conversation is usually framed around the “big exit.” Consolidators, phased buyouts, successors — the market is full of templates for selling up. But what if you could cash in your business without cashing out on the relationships that matter most? What if you could have your … Continue reading The Plot Twist: Option 5 – Retire from Regulation, Not from Clients
Trapped in the SJP Debt Cycle? Here’s the Alternative They Don’t Teach You
The headlines tell a stark story: St. James’s Place advisers now owe a staggering £847 million—and that figure is climbing by £1.5 million every week. This debt isn’t just a number. It’s a heavy chain around the necks of thousands of advisers, often taken on to buy books of business or entire practices under the … Continue reading Trapped in the SJP Debt Cycle? Here’s the Alternative They Don’t Teach You
Why Human Capital Strategies Are the Missing Piece in Most Financial Plans – And How You Can Try Them for Just £4.99
After decades in financial planning, I’ve noticed a surprising gap in even the most experienced advisers’ toolkits: human capital strategies. Many planners I meet still operate under the assumption that financial capital—the money you’ve saved and invested—represents the total picture of wealth. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Over the course of a … Continue reading Why Human Capital Strategies Are the Missing Piece in Most Financial Plans – And How You Can Try Them for Just £4.99
🛡️ Goliathon: Exposing Systemic Failures at the Financial Ombudsman Service
Is the Financial Ombudsman Service protecting consumers—or protecting the system? At Get SAFE (Support After Financial Exploitation), we are compiling a dossier of systemic issues in the way the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) handles complaints—particularly those involving fraud, maladministration, and regulatory failure. This is part of The Goliathon Project, a programme empowering Citizen Investigators to … Continue reading 🛡️ Goliathon: Exposing Systemic Failures at the Financial Ombudsman Service
🕊️ From Extraction to Creation: Replacing the Piscean Cycle
✝️ The Piscean Age: One Lifetime. One Cycle. One System of Extraction. For over 2,000 years, under the Age of Pisces, society has operated under a singular, extractive lifetime model—mandated by institutions that benefit from your compliance and contribution. This is how it goes: Accumulate wealth through your working years, and hand it over to … Continue reading 🕊️ From Extraction to Creation: Replacing the Piscean Cycle
Unfit for Purpose: Why the UK’s Financial Intermediation Model Is Structurally Untrustworthy
By Steve ConleyFounder, Academy of Life PlanningMember, Transparency Task Force Advisory Board For decades, consumers have been assured that financial institutions act in their best interests. From glossy advertising to friendly face-to-face meetings with brokers and advisers, the public is encouraged to believe that customer-facing staff—whether in banks, insurers, or wealth firms—are working for them. … Continue reading Unfit for Purpose: Why the UK’s Financial Intermediation Model Is Structurally Untrustworthy
Exploring the Future-Ready Model for Financial Planning
“People don’t want more products—they want more power over their lives.” The financial planning profession is at a crossroads. For decades, it has operated under a delegated model—where clients outsource their financial lives to intermediaries. But times have changed. Today, empowered individuals are rejecting that dependency. They want clarity, control, and confidence—not just advice, but … Continue reading Exploring the Future-Ready Model for Financial Planning
When Will We Wake Up? Human Capital, Not Tax Hikes, Drives Growth
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning Economic growth comes from one place: investment in people. Not balance-sheet trickery. Not tax rises. Not deregulation. But in human capital—the skills, health, knowledge, and potential of individuals. And yet, here we are again. According to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, Chancellor Rachel Reeves … Continue reading When Will We Wake Up? Human Capital, Not Tax Hikes, Drives Growth
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