As Consumer Duty regulations reshape the financial advice landscape, regulated firms are increasingly narrowing their focus to serve wealthier clients. While this realignment improves profitability and compliance, it also deepens the advice gap — leaving many prospective clients underserved. But what if you could still support these individuals and create a new revenue stream for … Continue reading Why Regulated Financial Advice Firms Should Consider Becoming an Academy Affiliate
Author: Steve Conley
Steve Conley is the founder of the Academy of Life Planning, a movement dedicated to restoring human agency in financial planning and helping people navigate life's decisions with greater confidence, capability and independence.
With over 40 years' experience in financial services, Steve has held senior leadership roles with HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Royal London. A Chartered Financial Planner and Chartered Insurer, he combines deep industry expertise with a passion for challenging systems that leave people unnecessarily dependent on experts.
Steve believes the future of financial planning is not about replacing advisers with artificial intelligence, but using AI to strengthen people's ability to understand, question and make informed decisions for themselves. This philosophy underpins Academy OS, a growing ecosystem of AI-powered tools designed to help individuals, families and planners build capability rather than dependency.
Through the Academy of Life Planning, Steve works with financial planners, organisations and individuals who share a vision of a more transparent, ethical and human-centred approach to planning. His work spans education, research, technology, speaking and professional development, with a focus on creating practical solutions that improve financial capability and restore confidence in decision-making.
Steve is also the creator of the Total Wealth Planner approach, which recognises that a fulfilling life depends on far more than money alone. By integrating financial, personal, social and purpose-driven wellbeing, he helps people pursue what he calls "enough"—a life of balance, resilience and meaning.
As a speaker, mentor and author of *Your Money or Your Life: Unmask the Highway Robbers*, Steve continues to challenge conventional thinking about financial planning, arguing that the profession's greatest opportunity is to move beyond advice alone and become a catalyst for greater human agency.
To learn more or connect with Steve, visit the Academy of Life Planning or email steve@academyoflifeplanning.com.
Spring Statement 2025: Crackdown on Tax Advisers Risks Collateral Damage
By Steve Conley, Academy of Life PlanningMarch 31, 2025 In a bid to close the UK’s persistent £40 billion tax gap, the government has used the Spring Statement 2025 to unveil a fresh crackdown on tax advisers. But while ministers argue this is about fairness and fiscal responsibility, past experience warns us of the unintended—and … Continue reading Spring Statement 2025: Crackdown on Tax Advisers Risks Collateral Damage
Avoiding Autumn Tax Hikes: The Case for the GAME Plan
As the Chancellor prepares for an autumn Budget that may bring another wave of tax rises, it’s time to ask a fundamental question: What if the solution to the UK's fiscal crisis isn’t more taxation—but more activation? A Fork in the Road Rachel Reeves faces immense pressure: growth forecasts slashed, borrowing costs soaring, and fiscal … Continue reading Avoiding Autumn Tax Hikes: The Case for the GAME Plan
How the GAME Plan Could Rescue the UK Economy
As the UK teeters on the edge of yet another fiscal reckoning—rising borrowing costs, fragile headroom, and looming trade threats—the time has come to think differently. The GAME Plan offers just that: a people-powered, sustainable alternative to traditional top-down economic thinking. 🔁 From Extraction to Empowerment The prevailing economic model is linear and extractive: work … Continue reading How the GAME Plan Could Rescue the UK Economy
Want to Solve the Welfare Crisis? Invest in a GAME Plan — Not More Cuts
By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning Rachel Reeves’s spring statement paints a bleak future: high taxes, low growth, and a rising tide of economic inactivity. Labour’s welfare reform, billed as a transformative “back-to-work” initiative, is already shaping up to be all pain and no gain — a deeply unimaginative plan destined … Continue reading Want to Solve the Welfare Crisis? Invest in a GAME Plan — Not More Cuts
💸 Earn While You Sleep – Become an AoLP Affiliate Today!
🧭 Help Others Plan Their Best Life – And Get Paid for It! We’re excited to invite you to our brand-new Affiliate Programme at the Academy of Life Planning — a powerful way to earn income while supporting people on their journey to holistic wealth and life planning. Whether you’re looking for a side hustle, … Continue reading 💸 Earn While You Sleep – Become an AoLP Affiliate Today!
💯 Ways to Generate Extra Income
A Lifeline for 35–49-Year-Olds Facing Financial Crisis By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning | 4-Minute Read The ‘rainy day’ we’re told to save for? It’s here—especially for 1 in 5 of us in our prime working years. Despite having the highest average income, many 35–49-year-olds are facing acute financial stress. According to Royal … Continue reading 💯 Ways to Generate Extra Income
Ending Poverty Through Empowered Human Capital: The GAME Plan in Action
At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders made a bold and compassionate commitment: to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.” This pledge, adopted unanimously by 189 countries, became the foundation of the Millennium Development Goals — and later, the … Continue reading Ending Poverty Through Empowered Human Capital: The GAME Plan in Action
Your Money or Your Life: Burn the Bonfire, Not the Rules
For every Ian Davis. For every victim who was told regulation was the problem—not the predators it barely tamed. They said the red tape was holding us back. But let’s get real. Whose hands were tied—ours or theirs? Because right now, Trump and Starmer, two men who couldn’t agree on breakfast, are shoulder-to-shoulder when it … Continue reading Your Money or Your Life: Burn the Bonfire, Not the Rules
🧇 The Weekly Waffle – Academy Town Hall Highlights March 28th 2025 📅
March 28, 2025 Story of the Week 🔥 From Banker to Changemaker 💥 Once trapped in the glass towers of Canary Wharf, I broke free from the rigged game — trading profit for purpose, and power for people. 💔💼 Today, I stand on the frontlines of financial reform, fighting for truth, transparency, and transformation. 🌍✊ … Continue reading 🧇 The Weekly Waffle – Academy Town Hall Highlights March 28th 2025 📅
