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?
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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
💡 How ChatGPT Saved My Life
Why Responsible AI Is the Future of Empowered Financial PlanningBy Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning Every now and then, something happens that reminds us why we do what we do. A long-standing member of the Academy recently wrote to tell me about a medical emergency that changed how he sees both life and … Continue reading 💡 How ChatGPT Saved My Life
🌍 The Most Important Conversation You’ll Ever Have
Why the Future of Financial Planning Begins with the Soul Recently, a valued member of our community wrote to say that while he respected our work, he felt the Academy had “departed from holistic financial advice toward a more spiritual and altruistic purpose.” He wished us well but chose to step away, explaining that his … Continue reading 🌍 The Most Important Conversation You’ll Ever Have
Uncovering Hidden Blocks: The Theory of MAP and a Holistic Approach to Purpose
At the Academy of Life Planning we believe that true financial and life-well-being isn’t confined to spreadsheets or market forecasts. It reaches deep into the landscape of the mind, body and spirit. The MAP Method™ offers an intriguing bridge between neuropsychology, soul-wisdom and the task of manifesting your purpose. Here’s how we understand it — … Continue reading Uncovering Hidden Blocks: The Theory of MAP and a Holistic Approach to Purpose
If Bankers Were Good, Would Britain Be Richer?
Finance should be a public good. When it isn’t, the costs ripple across the whole economy—through higher risk premia, compliance drag, mis-selling fallout, and a chronic trust deficit. Our analysis shows that if UK banking culture shifted decisively toward transparency, purpose, and stakeholder stewardship, the gains would be material and compounding: £50–60 billion a year … Continue reading If Bankers Were Good, Would Britain Be Richer?
🌱 Lessons for Holistic Wealth Planners from the Science of Spiritual Well-Being
By Steve Conley, Academy of Life Planning In the quest to understand what truly makes life fulfilling, psychology has long focused on the concept of subjective well-being — how people evaluate the quality of their own lives. For decades, this field has measured happiness through domains such as health, relationships, safety, and community connection. But … Continue reading 🌱 Lessons for Holistic Wealth Planners from the Science of Spiritual Well-Being
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