By Steve Conley In 2009, a quietly radical idea was proposed in the pages of a private investor magazine. It did not call for revolution.It did not reject the financial system.It simply asked a very reasonable question: What if fund managers were only paid when they genuinely outperformed? The proposal—known as the Active Management Partnership … Continue reading Active Management Partnership (AMP): The Idea That Almost Fixed the System—But Didn’t Go Far Enough
Month: April 2026
The Evidence That Went Missing: One Business Owner’s Fight for Answers from Lloyds, Police and Regulators
In 2013, a Norfolk business owner walked into his bank with a concern. He believed something was wrong inside his own company accounts—potential fraud, possibly involving a senior employee. He expected support. Instead, he says, the system turned against him. What followed is a 12-year battle involving allegations of unauthorised payments, missing evidence, regulatory inaction, … Continue reading The Evidence That Went Missing: One Business Owner’s Fight for Answers from Lloyds, Police and Regulators
The Great Misunderstanding: Why Empowering Consumers Will Grow—Not Shrink—the Financial System
A system built on extraction is mistaken for necessity There is a deeply embedded belief within financial services—and, crucially, within Government—that empowering consumers will come at a cost. The logic runs as follows: If consumers become fully informed If they avoid unnecessary fees and poor-value products If extraction falls Then: Financial sector revenues decline Tax … Continue reading The Great Misunderstanding: Why Empowering Consumers Will Grow—Not Shrink—the Financial System
Regulation After the Fall: What the Hartley Case Reveals About a System That Reacts Too Late
By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning A familiar pattern—only now, it’s formal The Financial Conduct Authority has taken a step toward enforcement action against Hartley Pensions. The allegations are serious. Misleading the regulator Using client pension funds without consent Acting for personal benefit Attempting to conceal wrongdoing For thousands of clients affected, this … Continue reading Regulation After the Fall: What the Hartley Case Reveals About a System That Reacts Too Late
Hidden Credit. Hidden Power. Hidden Harm.
Why Parliament’s Latest Debate Exposes a Deeper Structural Failure “Protection that comes a decade too late is not protection. It is a post-mortem.” That line, delivered in Westminster Hall this week, captures the essence of a scandal that refuses to die—and perhaps more importantly, refuses to be fully acknowledged. On 14 April 2026, MPs gathered … Continue reading Hidden Credit. Hidden Power. Hidden Harm.
A 14-year silence… now under review
“£674m a year in hidden fees over 14 years. Now ask yourself: what did you receive — and are you due a refund?” The Financial Conduct Authority has reopened a question many assumed had already been settled: Should trail commission still exist? Not for new business—that was addressed in 2012 under the Retail Distribution Review … Continue reading A 14-year silence… now under review
AI Is Now Universal in Pensions—So Why Are Some Still Telling Clients Not to Use It?
By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning The pensions industry has crossed a line. Quietly. Decisively. Irreversibly. According to the latest Society of Pension Professionals survey, 100% of pension professionals are now using AI. Not experimenting.Not piloting.Using. Let that land. At the very same time, scroll through LinkedIn and you will still find advisers … Continue reading AI Is Now Universal in Pensions—So Why Are Some Still Telling Clients Not to Use It?
From Aid to Agency
The Total Community Plan and the Future of Community Transformation By Steve Conley Founder, Academy of Life Planning For decades, efforts to address poverty, injustice, and environmental degradation have followed a familiar pattern. Resources flow in. Programmes are delivered. Outcomes are measured. And yet, in many communities, the underlying conditions remain unchanged. Not because people … Continue reading From Aid to Agency
The Compute Explosion and the Collapse of Intermediation
Why the future of financial planning is not advice—but agency There are moments in history when a shift is so profound that it quietly redraws the boundaries of power. Not through legislation.Not through protest.But through infrastructure. We are living through one of those moments now. Artificial intelligence is not simply improving. It is accelerating—faster than … Continue reading The Compute Explosion and the Collapse of Intermediation
From Gnosis to GAME Plan
Reclaiming Authority and Restoring Human Agency and Decision Capital in the Age of AI There was a time when authority lived within the individual. Not granted.Not licensed.Not intermediated. But known. In early Christian texts such as the Gospel of Mary, we find a striking idea: that truth is not delivered through hierarchy, but realised through … Continue reading From Gnosis to GAME Plan
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