Trust: What Customers Want Most Fifteen years ago, when I was Head of Investments at HSBC, we set out to understand what mattered most to people when choosing a financial adviser. We expected answers like qualifications, products, or price competitiveness. The response was strikingly clear: the number one priority was Trust. Not performance charts. Not … Continue reading The Trusted Adviser Project – My 15-Year Mission
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Why the Next Generation of Wealth Owners Prefer Empowerment Over Extraction
The numbers are stark: according to new research from Boring Money, four in five advised clients over the age of 65 believe their children will not stay with their current financial adviser once wealth transfers across generations. That’s over 1.2 million families expecting a break in the advice relationship. Why? Because the next generation isn’t … Continue reading Why the Next Generation of Wealth Owners Prefer Empowerment Over Extraction
Introducing the Holistic Wealth Planner: The Future of Financial Advice
Moving Beyond Products to Life Strategy The financial services profession is at a crossroads. For decades, Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) have been seen as the pinnacle of advice, guiding clients through investments, pensions, insurance, and mortgages. Yet, growing consumer demand for impartiality, transparency, and holistic life guidance reveals a gap that the traditional advice model … Continue reading Introducing the Holistic Wealth Planner: The Future of Financial Advice
The Hillsborough Law: What It Means for Survivors and Citizen Investigators
David Lammy told MPs yesterday that he was introducing a “groundbreaking law to ensure that victims and survivors never again have to wait decades for truth and justice” For decades, survivors of state failure—whether Hillsborough, Grenfell, the Post Office Horizon scandal, or pension fraud—have shared a common burden: being lied to, silenced, and abandoned by … Continue reading The Hillsborough Law: What It Means for Survivors and Citizen Investigators
Plans are useless. Planning is indispensable — and life planning is the same
Why the GAME Plan’s cycle matters more than the myth of arrival Dwight D. Eisenhower famously said, “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” He wasn’t dismissing planning — he was pointing to a truth we often miss: a fixed plan can break when reality changes, but the practice of planning builds the muscle we … Continue reading Plans are useless. Planning is indispensable — and life planning is the same
Captured Consultations: Why Pension Policy Ignores Human Capital
Government consultations are supposed to give voice to all stakeholders. In practice, however, they tilt heavily towards those with the deepest pockets. Market participants — asset managers, pension providers, and financial institutions — routinely spend client money lobbying for policy changes that serve their commercial interests. Consumers, meanwhile, are largely absent from the debate. Why? … Continue reading Captured Consultations: Why Pension Policy Ignores Human Capital
Spoofing Scams: How to Spot Them and Protect Yourself
Technology has given us convenience, but it has also given criminals new ways to trick us. One of the fastest-growing threats today is number spoofing – where fraudsters manipulate caller IDs or text sender details to impersonate trusted organisations like your bank, HMRC, or even the police. Which? recently highlighted that four in ten adults … Continue reading Spoofing Scams: How to Spot Them and Protect Yourself
Downsizing Protection: How Families Can Preserve the Residence Nil Rate Band
For many families, the family home is their largest asset. But what happens if that home is sold — perhaps to fund care fees in later life? Does the family lose valuable inheritance tax protection? Thankfully, the rules include something called downsizing protection that ensures families aren’t penalised for making difficult decisions. Understanding the Residence … Continue reading Downsizing Protection: How Families Can Preserve the Residence Nil Rate Band
Human Capital: The Hidden Multiplier of Wealth
One of the most powerful findings in modern economics is also one of the simplest: human capital amplifies everything. A landmark study by Erosa, Koreshkova, and Restuccia shows that differences in human capital explain far more of the world’s income inequality than raw productivity or financial resources alone. In fact, a modest 5-fold difference in … Continue reading Human Capital: The Hidden Multiplier of Wealth
🤖💬 AI & Client Data: What You Need to Know (Q&A)
By Steve Conley | Financial Life Coach | Academy of Life Planning As more tools like ChatGPT, Fathom, and other AI assistants become integrated into financial and legacy planning, clients are asking an important question: “Where does my data go—and is it safe?” In this short Q&A, I’ll walk you through exactly how client data … Continue reading 🤖💬 AI & Client Data: What You Need to Know (Q&A)
Academy of Life Planning 