You can take the investment adviser out of financial planning. And save over 10% on your investments after 5 years! Financial advice is offered today, with the adviser tapping into your assets for fees. Some claim that they can deliver superior investment returns when compared to the market. Be wary of such claims. I don't … Continue reading Save 10% after 5 years by taking the investment adviser out of financial planning.
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.
Stop telling us pensions are more important than living for today!
Guy Opperman, the UK Pensions Minister, supports continuing to auto-enrol breadwinners into pension schemes during the cost-of-living crisis, suggesting that everyone agrees the more prominent people’s pension pots, the brighter is their future. Not everyone agrees. I don’t. And I’ve been a leading pension professional for 40 years, heading up pensions for brands now part … Continue reading Stop telling us pensions are more important than living for today!
Great Planning Outcomes
What might you expect from a terrific financial planner? There’s conventional wisdom, and then there’s what I think. Let me give you what everyone else thinks first. I am sure that 99.9% of financial planners will agree with fellow Transparency Task Force volunteer Jeremy Askew FPFS from London. Jeremy, you have my respect as a … Continue reading Great Planning Outcomes
How Do I Run My Own Money … SAFELY?
How to invest - advice-only financial planner How do you run your own money safely? There are no guarantees in investing. The value of an investment may fall as well as rise however you invest and with whoever you invest. You may get back less than the amount invested. But in real terms, it's the only … Continue reading How Do I Run My Own Money … SAFELY?
Challenges Ahead: Financial Advisers And A New Consumer Duty
The Duty will include requirements for firms to end rip-off charges and fees. The FCA's Consumer Duty will lead to a major shift in financial services | FCA - PS22/9 12.9 By the end of October 2022 (UK) adviser firms' "boards" should agree implementation plans (PS22/9 12.9). What should financial advisers be thinking about for … Continue reading Challenges Ahead: Financial Advisers And A New Consumer Duty
How To Navigate Happiness: A low-cost approach that everyone can afford
HapNav provides a cashflow baseline for every user to just set up and take away on their own for a few years. "Growth forward is made possible by the feeling of being safe, of operating out into the unknown from a safe home port, of daring because retreat is possible." - Richard Barrett, A new … Continue reading How To Navigate Happiness: A low-cost approach that everyone can afford
The Live Longer Better Plan
Do you want to live longer better? Are you ready to choose a better life from today? Where are you now? Maybe you haven’t found that inspiring reason to spring out of bed on a Monday morning. You live as others expect you to live and not true to yourself. You lack self-knowledge and true … Continue reading The Live Longer Better Plan
What a fabulous career choice this NIFP network has turned out to be.
Our planning model removes product intermediation from the advice process. It’s absolutely amazing when you take the blinkers off; we open up vast horizons of planning opportunity. The likes of which we have never seen before. For example: Planning 100 employees all at once with one planner as part of an employee financial wellbeing programme.Creating … Continue reading What a fabulous career choice this NIFP network has turned out to be.
The Ultimate Stakeholder Win-Win Proposition
Good brands and stakeholders Question: You may choose to answer this on the Facebook pages as I believe it is a vibrant subject. Very timely and pertinent to the malaise of beleaguered businesses right now. Especially the SME enterprises, and I suspect it is because many HR people do not appreciate the relationship between the business owner and … Continue reading The Ultimate Stakeholder Win-Win Proposition
Employee financial planning apps for well-being at work
http://www.hapnav.com Financially disorganised employees are the source of low productivity and reduced efficiency in the workplace. It’s a no-brainer that an engaged and stress-free workforce will be more productive and bring more value to the organisation than a team of financially stressed employees. So, what difference can an employee financial planning app make to your … Continue reading Employee financial planning apps for well-being at work
