The meaning of financial planning has been contested for decades. Is it simply another name for regulated investment advice, or is it a broader discipline that integrates tax, estate, cashflow, and life strategies beyond product distribution? The regulatory landscape shows a consistent theme: financial planning is wider than investment intermediation, and it should not be … Continue reading Who Owns “Financial Planning”? Lessons from the US, UK, and Canada
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🗣 Why Dissent Matters in Building True Consumer Protection
In a recent exchange about the make-up of consumer representation panels, one theme came through clearly: dissent is not welcome at the table. Applicants are advised to “toe the party line.” Those who might criticise are filtered out. The result? An echo chamber dressed up as governance. Peter Block, in Community: The Structure of Belonging, … Continue reading 🗣 Why Dissent Matters in Building True Consumer Protection
Weekend Essay: Angela Rayner and the Price of Not Seeking Advice
The resignation of Angela Rayner last week over a Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) dispute has been described as one of the most dramatic political falls in recent years. Once tipped as Labour’s future leader, Rayner now finds herself relegated to the back benches—her career blighted not by scandalous intent, but by a failure to … Continue reading Weekend Essay: Angela Rayner and the Price of Not Seeking Advice
Human Capital First: How AoLP Turns Talents into Sustainable Livelihoods
Money follows people. The evidence keeps piling up: human capital—skills, health, creativity, values—drives long-run growth far more than physical or natural capital. Studies attribute ~64% of global growth to human capital, and show that in developed economies the return on human-capital investment is roughly 2× other investments. [Ref: The impact of stimulating the development of … Continue reading Human Capital First: How AoLP Turns Talents into Sustainable Livelihoods
Human Capital: The Missing Link in the Green Transition
“Wealth is not what you own, but what you grow—within yourself, your community, and your planet.” At the Academy of Life Planning (AoLP), we measure success not by profit alone, but by the quadruple bottom line: Purpose, People, Planet, and Profit. We also weigh SORI (Social Return on Investment) alongside ROI, recognising that real wealth … Continue reading Human Capital: The Missing Link in the Green Transition
When the Enablers Eat Their Own: True Potential vs St James’s Place
The latest story out of the advice industry tells us everything we need to know about how the system really works. It’s not about clients. It’s about the enablers cutting deals among themselves—each side trying to see who can extract the most from the people they claim to serve. Citywire reports that True Potential is … Continue reading When the Enablers Eat Their Own: True Potential vs St James’s Place
🌱 Introducing The Empowerment Cohort: Turning Human Capital into Sovereign Living
At the Academy of Life Planning, we’ve always believed that real wealth is not measured in money alone, but in human capital — our skills, passions, networks, creativity, and purpose. Yet too often, financial systems and even “planning” conversations strip people of agency, leaving them dependent, isolated, or defined by what they lack. It doesn’t … Continue reading 🌱 Introducing The Empowerment Cohort: Turning Human Capital into Sovereign Living
DIY Investors: Stop Listening to Moon Boys
All you DIY investors — it’s time to stop listening to the “moon boys” on TikTok and YouTube promising overnight riches. I might be a so-called TradFi Boomer, but I agree with the FCA on this one: keep it boring. Wealth is not created by gambling on the latest get-rich-quick scheme. Wealth is created, then … Continue reading DIY Investors: Stop Listening to Moon Boys
Why Now? Why It Makes No Sense to Delay Learning New Skills
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is today.” As life planners, we are in the business of preparing people for the future. But there’s a danger: while we focus on helping our clients prepare, we sometimes forget to apply the same wisdom to ourselves. The study on … Continue reading Why Now? Why It Makes No Sense to Delay Learning New Skills
When Goliathon Meets the System: Can AI Be Trusted in the Fight for Justice?
Every tool humanity has ever invented has been double-edged.The printing press empowered ordinary people to read scripture and radical pamphlets — but it was also used to spread propaganda.The internet gave rise to grassroots organising — but also mass surveillance. And now, in our generation, the tool in question is AI. The Concern: Whose AI … Continue reading When Goliathon Meets the System: Can AI Be Trusted in the Fight for Justice?
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