An Academy of Life Planning perspective on Britain’s overdue reckoning Last week, Michael Mainelli, Chairman of Z/Yen Group and former Lord Mayor of the City of London, published a sharp and timely intervention calling on the UK to stop avoiding international scrutiny and finally participate in the OECD PISA Financial Literacy Assessment. His argument is … Continue reading From Evidence to Empowerment: Why Financial Literacy Tests Are Necessary — and Why They Are Not Enough
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Human Capital Isn’t a “Soft” Concept — It’s the Hardest Driver of Fair Wealth Outcomes
Lessons for Total Wealth Planners from Global Evidence on Income Equality For decades, financial planning has been dominated by one narrow question:How do we grow financial capital? But global evidence increasingly points to a deeper, more foundational truth: Societies that invest in human capital don’t just grow wealth — they distribute it more fairly. A … Continue reading Human Capital Isn’t a “Soft” Concept — It’s the Hardest Driver of Fair Wealth Outcomes
Litigants in Person: Practical Lessons for Citizen Investigators
How Davids Can Still Stand Against Goliaths Transparency Task Force recently hosted a powerful session on one of the hardest realities in modern justice:what it is really like to go to court alone against banks, regulators, or large institutions. For many people, this is not a choice.It is what happens after money runs out, lawyers … Continue reading Litigants in Person: Practical Lessons for Citizen Investigators
AI Is at the Door — and It’s Knocking in 2026
AI Is at the Door — and It’s Knocking What Matthew Griffin’s warning really means for the future of financial planning Dear reader, the quote below isn’t just an observation. It’s a signal flare. When Matthew Griffin — widely described as “the adviser behind the advisers” — says “AI is coming for your lunch”, he’s … Continue reading AI Is at the Door — and It’s Knocking in 2026
Human Capital Lessons Every Total Wealth Planner Should Understand
What a global development study reveals about planning, productivity, and prosperity For Total Wealth Planners, human capital is not a soft concept. It is the primary engine of long-term wealth, resilience, and freedom. A major academic study on the development and effective use of human capital in developing countries offers powerful lessons that are just … Continue reading Human Capital Lessons Every Total Wealth Planner Should Understand
When Procedure Fails at Scale and How Citizens Can Test Whether Justice Was Done
Why Millions May Be Exposed to Unchecked Financial Enforcement — and How Citizens Can Test Whether Justice Was Done When people think about injustice in the courts, they usually imagine dramatic errors: the wrong person convicted, a forged document, a corrupt official. What rarely gets attention is something quieter — and potentially far larger in … Continue reading When Procedure Fails at Scale and How Citizens Can Test Whether Justice Was Done
Human Capital Is the Real Engine of Wealth: Lessons for Total Wealth Planners
For decades, financial planning has treated people as inputs to portfolios rather than the primary source of value itself.This study on The Impact of Stimulating the Development of Human Capital on Economic Development quietly dismantles that error—and in doing so, reinforces why Total Wealth Planning must start with people, not products. [European Journal of Social … Continue reading Human Capital Is the Real Engine of Wealth: Lessons for Total Wealth Planners
Growth, Trust, and Protection: Rethinking the UK’s Regulatory Direction for 2026
An Academy of Life Planning perspective Why this article exists The regulatory outlook for 2026 is framed as modernising, pro-growth, and inclusive. Many of the measures are presented as pragmatic responses to low participation, technological change, and political pressure to stimulate economic activity. From the Academy of Life Planning’s standpoint, the test is not whether … Continue reading Growth, Trust, and Protection: Rethinking the UK’s Regulatory Direction for 2026
Human Capital Is Not a Footnote to Financial Planning
What Three Landmark Studies Teach Total Wealth Planners For decades, financial planning has treated human capital as a background assumption—future earnings, career trajectory, or “capacity for work.”The evidence tells a very different story. Across three major studies—spanning poverty, inequality, life expectancy, and economic growth—a consistent message emerges: Human capital is not merely an input to … Continue reading Human Capital Is Not a Footnote to Financial Planning
AI Banking Is Scaling Faster Than Consumer Protection
Why financial modernisation without accountability is creating the next harm wave The banking industry is once again telling a familiar story. Legacy banks must “radically modernise,” adopt artificial intelligence, and compete with fast-moving fintech challengers or risk irrelevance. Former Antony Jenkins has framed this moment as existential: upgrade technology or lose ground to digital-native rivals … Continue reading AI Banking Is Scaling Faster Than Consumer Protection
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