The financial planning profession stands at a historic turning point.
Recent research reveals that four in five wealth owners over 65 believe their children will not stay with their current adviser. The message couldn’t be clearer: the next generation doesn’t want intermediation — they want empowerment.
They are digital natives who value transparency, control, and purpose. They question opaque fees, legacy models, and conflicts of interest. For them, wealth is not something to be managed by others, but a resource to be aligned with life, values, and impact.
🧠The Shift from Distribution to Direct Empowerment
The FCA’s own Consumer Duty consultation recognised what many in the industry still resist:
“Low-cost, globally diversified funds are readily available to consumers direct.”
In other words, the fund distribution model is already commoditised.
The need for intermediaries to “access” funds is disappearing.
You can see the shift in the data:
- AJ Bell’s platform flows have moved from 46% direct / 54% advised in FY 2021 to 76% direct / 24% advised in Q3 2025.
This isn’t a blip; it’s a trend. Consumers now have the information, tools, and confidence to invest directly — and increasingly, they prefer it that way.
🤖 The Death of Information Asymmetry
For decades, financial advice thrived on information asymmetry: the adviser knew what the client didn’t. That imbalance justified intermediation and extracted value at every step.
AI has changed that permanently.
Clients can now model their own futures, access global market data, and compare options instantly. Knowledge is no longer locked behind a regulatory paywall. Technology has equalised the playing field.
In this new paradigm, advisers who sell access are redundant. Planners who teach empowerment are indispensable.
đź’ˇ From Conflicts to Conscience
Some argue that planners, too, have conflicts of interest. That’s simply false when the model is built on transparency and fee-for-service independence.
A planner without products has no incentive other than the client’s best outcome. They don’t sell — they serve. Their work is about helping clients design a life that expresses their values and deploys money consciously to support it.
This is what we call Holistic Wealth Planning — the integration of financial, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It’s the core philosophy behind the Academy of Life Planning and the M-POWER Movement: replacing extraction with empowerment.
🌱 The New Paradigm
The winners of this next era will not be the biggest distributors, but the most trusted guides.
The future belongs to those who:
- Empower clients to make informed, values-aligned decisions.
- Use AI to enhance transparency and education.
- Operate without hidden incentives or manufactured dependency.
- Build intergenerational trust based on shared purpose.
In short, the financial planner of the future is not a salesperson — but a teacher of freedom.
🚀 A Call to the Profession
It’s time to evolve from extractive models to empowering movements.
From wealth management to wealth liberation.
From clients as customers to clients as co-creators.
Those who adapt will thrive. Those who cling to control will watch wealth — and trust — move elsewhere.
The future is already here.
It’s open-source, transparent, and human-centred.
It’s the Age of Empowerment.
The future belongs to those who teach freedom, not dependence.
To those who use AI not to impress, but to empower.
To those who build wealth — in every sense of the word.
Join the Movement
If this vision resonates with you, you may already be one of us.
Whether you’re a financial professional seeking integrity, a career-changer longing for purpose, or a client tired of being sold to — there’s a place for you in the future we’re building.
Together, we’re redefining the meaning of wealth — and reclaiming the profession for the people it was meant to serve.
Learn more about becoming a Holistic Wealth Planner
Join the Academy of Life Planning →
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