What Happens When AI Can Do Most of the Regulated Work? For thirty years, financial planning and financial advice have largely travelled together. In practice, most consumers have experienced financial planning through the lens of regulated financial advice. The planner gathered information, analysed circumstances, made recommendations, arranged products, implemented transactions, reviewed outcomes, and managed ongoing … Continue reading The Great Unbundling of Financial Planning
Author: Steve Conley
Steve Conley brings over four decades of innovation and expertise to the forefront of financial planning. As the founder and driving force behind the Academy of Life Planning and HapNav Ltd, Steve has been a pivotal figure in transforming financial services to be more democratic and decentralised. His role as a Game Plan Practitioner, Coach, Mentor, Speaker, and Author of "Your Money or Your Life: Unmask the Highway Robbers - Enjoy Wealth in Every Area of Your Life" underlines his comprehensive approach to financial education.
The Academy of Life Planning, hailed as the "Most Pioneering Financial Planner Network," reflects Steve's commitment to fostering transparency, integrity, and accessibility. This institution serves as a testament to his dedication to enhancing the financial planning landscape.
Under Steve's innovative leadership, HapNav Ltd has launched groundbreaking advancements, including the first end-user financial planning app integrated with open banking. This app guides users towards achieving 'Kokoro'—a life rich in financial, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual abundance.
Recently, Steve introduced "Planning My Life" and "Financial Life Coach"—services that extend his ethos into practical, impactful tools for financial autonomy. "Planning My Life" offers an affordable subscription model, giving members access to an AI Life Planner, comprehensive resources, and expert insights. These initiatives epitomise Steve’s commitment to empowering individuals, nurturing community growth, and contributing significantly to global efforts to eradicate poverty.
Steve's journey is more than a career; it's a steadfast crusade to revolutionise financial education and planning, creating a world where financial wellbeing is not just attainable, but enriches every aspect of our lives. Contact steve.conley@aolp.co.uk.
What does the rise of AI girlfriends tell us about the state of human agency?
If millions of young people are choosing AI companions that never reject them, never challenge them, and never leave them, is the real story about artificial intelligence — or about what modern life is failing to provide? [Based on The terrifying rise of schoolboys making AI girlfriends, by Nicole Mowbray in The Telegraph Magazine. 6 … Continue reading What does the rise of AI girlfriends tell us about the state of human agency?
AoLP helps planners build better businesses, serve clients more effectively, and prepare for the future of planning in an age of AI and restored human agency.
The Academy of Life Planning helps planners become Total Wealth Planners by combining professional community, strategic support, AI-powered planning infrastructure, practical business development, and a philosophy centred on restoring human agency. Based on the mentorship sessions, Academy structure, Total Wealth OS roadmap, and the positioning we've been developing, I would describe the support provided to … Continue reading AoLP helps planners build better businesses, serve clients more effectively, and prepare for the future of planning in an age of AI and restored human agency.
If AI Agents Are Going to Make Financial Decisions, Who Should They Work For?
This week, FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi made it clear that artificial intelligence is moving beyond assistance and into action. The next phase, he argued, is not simply AI helping people analyse information. It is the emergence of agentic systems that can coordinate, transact and execute decisions on behalf of others. The FCA has signalled … Continue reading If AI Agents Are Going to Make Financial Decisions, Who Should They Work For?
Agency Starts With Owning Your Own Data
For decades, we have been encouraged to place our trust in institutions. Banks hold our money. Platforms hold our conversations. Governments hold our records. Technology companies hold our digital lives. In return, we are promised convenience. Most of the time, the arrangement works. Until it doesn't. A company is acquired. A platform changes its terms. … Continue reading Agency Starts With Owning Your Own Data
Is the Future of Wealth Management About Managing Portfolios — or Helping People Convert Their Whole Life into Agency, Ownership and Opportunity?
The recent launch of Factory Capital provides an interesting glimpse into the future of wealth management. On the surface, it is another wealth advisory firm entering the market. Dig a little deeper, however, and something more significant emerges. Factory Capital has not positioned itself primarily around investment selection, portfolio construction or retirement planning. Instead, it … Continue reading Is the Future of Wealth Management About Managing Portfolios — or Helping People Convert Their Whole Life into Agency, Ownership and Opportunity?
Is AI Making Investors More Reckless — or More Capable?
If AI is already influencing how affluent investors research, assess and feel about risk, is the real question whether advisers can control its use — or whether they can help clients use it wisely while keeping final agency with the individual? HSBC’s research suggests AI is no longer peripheral. Among nearly 10,000 affluent and high-net-worth … Continue reading Is AI Making Investors More Reckless — or More Capable?
The finance curse is devouring the UK
Is the Finance Industry Devouring the UK Economy — or Have We Forgotten What Creates Wealth? A recent article by Prem Sikka asks a provocative question: has Britain's obsession with finance come at the expense of the real economy? It is a question worth asking. For decades, successive governments have treated the financial services sector … Continue reading The finance curse is devouring the UK
How Many Ordinary People Could Realistically Navigate a System This Complex Without Assistance?
Imagine you discover something has gone badly wrong. Perhaps a financial institution has made a mistake. Perhaps an insurer has refused a claim. Perhaps you believe you have been misled, treated unfairly, or suffered a significant financial loss. You decide to do what responsible citizens are told to do. You gather evidence. You write letters. … Continue reading How Many Ordinary People Could Realistically Navigate a System This Complex Without Assistance?
A Trusted Adviser Stole £2 Million. What Should We Learn?
A financial adviser has just been jailed for 11 years after defrauding clients, friends, neighbours, and a charity out of almost £2 million. The details are shocking but, sadly, not unique. Timothy "Paul" Barnes was not an anonymous scammer operating from overseas. He was a regulated financial adviser with decades of experience. He held positions … Continue reading A Trusted Adviser Stole £2 Million. What Should We Learn?
Academy of Life Planning 