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.

🧭 When Truth, Process, and the Right Tools Align — Justice Prevails

Yesterday, one of our Get SAFE members achieved something extraordinary.Facing a major financial institution in court — alone, unrepresented, and under immense pressure — this individual walked away with a decisive procedural victory. The claimant’s legal team didn’t even turn up.The hearing lasted less than ten minutes.And yet, those ten minutes changed everything. ⚖️ A … Continue reading 🧭 When Truth, Process, and the Right Tools Align — Justice Prevails →

💣 The End of Asset-based “Ongoing Advice” Fees?

Why the FCA’s next consultation could collapse the AUM fee habit — and usher in a trust-first model What’s happening. The FCA has confirmed it’s working toward a Q1 consultation on changes to the rules governing ongoing advice — the annual-fee model most wealth firms rely on. This follows its multi-firm review of 22 large … Continue reading 💣 The End of Asset-based “Ongoing Advice” Fees? →

💰 Over 99% of What the Investor Pays Never Reaches the People Managing the Money

When St. James’s Place announced that State Street would run its new range of tracker funds for just 0.0075%, the financial press celebrated it as proof that investment costs had reached rock bottom. But dig deeper, and you’ll discover a startling truth: over 99% of what investors pay never reaches the people actually managing their … Continue reading 💰 Over 99% of What the Investor Pays Never Reaches the People Managing the Money →

🧭 Structurally Trustworthy Education: Teaching Our Children Freedom, Not Dependency

By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning Background: Financial Education Returns to the Curriculum After more than a decade without review, the UK Government has announced plans to include financial education within the national curriculum for both primary and secondary schools. The proposals, warmly welcomed by many financial planners, aim to make … Continue reading 🧭 Structurally Trustworthy Education: Teaching Our Children Freedom, Not Dependency →

💥 Is Budget Anxiety Killing the AUM Adviser Fee Model?

By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning Adviser platforms are seeing record-breaking inflows — and yet, paradoxically, the AUM-based advice model is showing signs of terminal decline. According to new data from the lang cat, adviser platform outflows hit a record £17.94bn in Q3 2025 — the highest on record — even … Continue reading 💥 Is Budget Anxiety Killing the AUM Adviser Fee Model? →

The Trust Agenda: Why Structural Trustworthiness, Not Deregulation, Will Save Britain’s Economy

By Steve Conley, Founder – Academy of Life Planning The headlines are familiar: a £100 billion budget deficit, sluggish productivity, and another “growth and deregulation” promise on the horizon. But what if the real deficit isn’t fiscal — it’s moral? We call it the Structurally Untrustworthy Discount (SUD) — the hidden cost of a system … Continue reading The Trust Agenda: Why Structural Trustworthiness, Not Deregulation, Will Save Britain’s Economy →

🌍 The Real Wealth of Nations: Lessons in Human Capital for Holistic Wealth Planners

“Wealth in the broadest sense includes people.” — Irving Fisher (1906) The world’s greatest untapped resource isn’t oil, gold, or digital currency — it’s human capital. A recent study from Riga Stradiņš University and al-Farabi Kazakh National University, “Problems of Development and Effective Use of Human Capital in Developing Countries” (Muravska et al., 2020), offers … Continue reading 🌍 The Real Wealth of Nations: Lessons in Human Capital for Holistic Wealth Planners →

Bitcoin Improves the Efficient Frontier Historically — But Not Reliably or Durably

By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning “In markets, as in life, what works in hindsight rarely works forever.” For seventy years, Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) has defined how we think about diversification. It tells us that by combining assets with different volatilities and correlations, we can create an efficient frontier — … Continue reading Bitcoin Improves the Efficient Frontier Historically — But Not Reliably or Durably →

Beyond Religion: Awakening the Moral Intelligence of Money

Where faith once provided moral grounding, modern finance replaced meaning with mechanism. Profit replaced purpose. Guidance became sales. Advice became extraction. The Academy exists to reverse that. We teach planners and individuals alike to plan life before planning money — reconnecting wealth creation to wisdom, compassion, and consciousness.This is not “religious planning”; it is spiritual … Continue reading Beyond Religion: Awakening the Moral Intelligence of Money →