Following reports that the FCA has asked advice firms whether they continue to charge ongoing fees after a client has died, the central question is simple: what service is actually being provided, and to whom? Ongoing advice fees are only defensible where there is an ongoing service, such as suitability reviews or active support, and … Continue reading How can an adviser provide ongoing advice to someone who has died?
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.
AoLP as an Agency-Restoration Ecosystem
How do we restore human agency in the age of AI and institutional power asymmetry? The defining question of the AI age may not be whether machines become more intelligent. It may be whether human beings become less capable of acting for themselves. For decades, individuals have lived with a growing power asymmetry between themselves … Continue reading AoLP as an Agency-Restoration Ecosystem
What Should I Do When I Get a Legal Demand Letter in the Post?
A legal demand letter can change the atmosphere in a home. One moment you are getting on with your day. The next, an envelope lands on the mat carrying unfamiliar words, formal deadlines, reference numbers, threats of action, and an amount of money you may or may not understand. For many people, the first reaction … Continue reading What Should I Do When I Get a Legal Demand Letter in the Post?
Total Wealth Planner™: For Capable People Who Want Clarity Without Handing Over Control
Most financially capable people manage their own money successfully. You pay the bills. You run the household. You make sensible choices. You understand your income, pensions, savings, mortgage, family responsibilities, and future hopes well enough to get through ordinary life. But some moments are not ordinary. Retirement. Pension drawdown. Inheritance. Tax. Divorce. Bereavement. Later-life planning. … Continue reading Total Wealth Planner™: For Capable People Who Want Clarity Without Handing Over Control
Get Secure Has Launched: The Bridge to Freedom for People Living with Financial Insecurity
Get Secure Has Launched: The Bridge to Freedom for People Living with Financial Insecurity Financial planning has a problem. The people who most need help navigating financial insecurity are often the people least likely to receive meaningful planning support. Not because they lack ability. Not because they lack potential. But because the traditional financial advice … Continue reading Get Secure Has Launched: The Bridge to Freedom for People Living with Financial Insecurity
AI Does Not Just Need a Pause. It Needs a Purpose: Restoring Human Agency Before Power Concentrates Beyond Reach
Anthropic, the company behind Claude, has reportedly called for the option of a global pause or slowdown in frontier AI development. Its argument is stark. If the development of more powerful AI systems could be slowed effectively, the world would have more time to understand and manage the consequences. The concern is not simply that … Continue reading AI Does Not Just Need a Pause. It Needs a Purpose: Restoring Human Agency Before Power Concentrates Beyond Reach
AI or Nothing: The Missing Question in the Financial Advice Debate
When most people cannot access financial advice, should we be asking whether AI threatens advisers — or whether it finally gives the unsupported majority a first step back to agency? Source: 9 in 10 advisers expect AI to affect client relationships, Financial Planning Today, 5th June 2026. The story says 68% of advisers are concerned … Continue reading AI or Nothing: The Missing Question in the Financial Advice Debate
Why Are We Teaching Children About Financial Capital Before Human Capital?
The missing asset in school financial education There is a strange imbalance at the heart of financial education. Children are taught about money. They may learn about budgeting, saving, spending, borrowing, interest, pensions, and perhaps investing. These are useful topics. Nobody serious would argue that young people should leave school unable to understand debt, savings, … Continue reading Why Are We Teaching Children About Financial Capital Before Human Capital?
Do Good Works Excuse Asset-Hoovering?
A financial advice firm may do visible good in its local community: supporting charities, funding financial education, sponsoring grassroots sport, planting trees, and gaining credentials such as B Corp status. These activities may be sincere and worthwhile. But they do not, on their own, answer a separate consumer-protection question. If the firm’s commercial model includes … Continue reading Do Good Works Excuse Asset-Hoovering?
Goliathon Has Changed the Game for Citizen Investigation
When people are harmed by powerful institutions, the first battle is rarely fought in court. It is fought in confusion. A survivor may have years of emails, letters, bank statements, screenshots, court papers, call notes and regulatory correspondence. Somewhere in that material may be the truth of what happened. But truth alone is not enough. … Continue reading Goliathon Has Changed the Game for Citizen Investigation
Academy of Life Planning 