The Missing Half of a More Equal Britain In Head North: A rallying cry for a more equal Britain, Andy Burnham writes: “We believe we need to rebalance this country in favour of ordinary people and away from a powerful establishment. …rebalance the scales of justice in favour of ordinary people. …rewiring the legal system. … Continue reading Restoring Human Agency: The Missing Half of a More Equal Britain
Month: August 2026
Use AI at Your Own Risk? What About the Risk of Having No Help at All?
City AM reports that the FCA has warned consumers using AI for investment decisions that they may have little or no regulatory protection if things go wrong. That is an important point. But it also raises a bigger question that the warning itself does not really answer: what is the realistic alternative for people who … Continue reading Use AI at Your Own Risk? What About the Risk of Having No Help at All?
Who Gets the Decision Dividend? AI Is Making Intelligence Cheap. Financial Services Has Not Yet Passed the Saving to the Customer.
McKinsey’s 26 August 2026 article, “The decision dividend: How AI creates economic value,” caught my attention because it describes, in corporate terms, something very close to the shift we have been exploring in financial planning. Its central argument is that AI’s biggest economic gains may not come from replacing labour, but from making better decisions … Continue reading Who Gets the Decision Dividend? AI Is Making Intelligence Cheap. Financial Services Has Not Yet Passed the Saving to the Customer.
The Most Important Outcome of Financial Planning Is Not the Money
It Is When the Light Comes Back On There is an idea that has run through the Academy of Life Planning for years. The purpose of life planning is to light the lamp within. That is why I call Total Wealth Planners Lamplighters. I have always understood the metaphor intellectually. This week, I think I … Continue reading The Most Important Outcome of Financial Planning Is Not the Money
The Next Financial Platform Won’t Own Your Money. It Will Help You Understand Your Life.
On 26 August 2026, two headlines appeared that seem to contradict each other. Citywire reported: “Platform acquisitions are dead, CEOs say.” On the same day, the Wall Street Journal reported: “Vanguard Buys Wealth Management Platform Altruist in $4 Billion Deal.” Platforms are dead. Vanguard has just spent roughly $4 billion buying one. Both things can … Continue reading The Next Financial Platform Won’t Own Your Money. It Will Help You Understand Your Life.
Raising the Standard for Non-Intermediating Financial Planning
If financial planning is to become independent of product intermediation, it must become more accountable — not less There is a saying often attributed to Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” There is no reliable evidence that Gandhi actually said it. But the sentiment … Continue reading Raising the Standard for Non-Intermediating Financial Planning
When the Badge Becomes the Blindfold
Before You Trust the Badge, Use Intelligence A difficult conversation with QROPS victims forced me to revisit what regulation actually does, what it does not do, and why understanding should come before intermediation. It also reminded me that the people trying to help have feelings too. It is after three in the morning as I … Continue reading When the Badge Becomes the Blindfold
Britain’s Biggest Untapped Asset Is Its People
How AI could convert dormant human capital into sustainable livelihoods, economic growth and higher tax revenues Abstract The United Kingdom faces an unusual labour-market problem at both ends of the working-age spectrum. In early 2026, approximately 1.012 million people aged 16–24 were not in education, employment or training (NEET), equivalent to 13.5% of the age … Continue reading Britain’s Biggest Untapped Asset Is Its People
Permission Is Not Protection: What British Expats Need to Know Before Trusting a “Locally Regulated” Financial Adviser
If you are a British expatriate with a UK pension, “find someone regulated where you live” sounds like sensible consumer protection. It may not be enough. Imagine you spent your working life in Britain. Perhaps you worked for the NHS, a local authority, the armed forces or a private employer. You built up a valuable … Continue reading Permission Is Not Protection: What British Expats Need to Know Before Trusting a “Locally Regulated” Financial Adviser
Your Future Financial Life Cannot Be Separated From the Future World in Which You Will Live
What might the future require of me — and what forms of wealth will help me meet it? Most financial plans make forecasts. They forecast your pension. Your investments. Your income. Your expenditure. Inflation. Investment returns. Perhaps your life expectancy. Then they project those numbers twenty, thirty or forty years into the future. But there … Continue reading Your Future Financial Life Cannot Be Separated From the Future World in Which You Will Live
Academy of Life Planning 