“Financial capital is only part of the picture. True wealth is the life you build with it.” A question I often get asked is this: What’s the difference between a financial planner and a financial adviser? And what on earth is a “non-intermediating” financial planner? Let me demystify it.At the Academy of Life Planning, we … Continue reading From Product Seller to Purpose Partner: The Rise of the Holistic Wealth Planner
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🌍 From Growth-at-All-Costs to Global Responsibility: Why We Must Rethink Financial Systems in the Age of Aquarius
“The crime of our age is not merely theft—it is complicity through inaction.” As financial planners, citizen advocates, and architects of new systems, we stand at a crossroads. The global financial order is no longer just unsustainable—it is systemically complicit in human suffering, economic inequality, and environmental collapse. Nowhere is this more evident than in … Continue reading 🌍 From Growth-at-All-Costs to Global Responsibility: Why We Must Rethink Financial Systems in the Age of Aquarius
Future-Proof Your Practice: Serve the Empowered Generation Without the Red Tape
As the financial landscape evolves, one truth becomes increasingly clear: we are moving from a generation of wealthy delegators to an new age of empowered decision-makers. Tomorrow's clients don’t just want to be told what to do with their money—they want to be educated, empowered, and guided holistically. For regulated financial planning firms, this shift … Continue reading Future-Proof Your Practice: Serve the Empowered Generation Without the Red Tape
The Perimeter Prefect: Reclaiming Financial Planning Beyond Regulation
What if the future of financial planning didn’t lie within the rules of a product-based system—but just beyond them? In our recent Masterclass, The Perimeter Prefect, we explored how planners, coaches, and changemakers are redefining financial support outside the regulatory perimeter—offering clarity, empowerment, and purpose without the burden of unnecessary red tape. This isn’t about … Continue reading The Perimeter Prefect: Reclaiming Financial Planning Beyond Regulation
Dear Nikhil Rathi: A £1.5m Crypto Scam Got 12 Years — But What About £10bn QROPS Fraud?
By Steve ConleyFounder, Academy of Life Planning 👏 Well done, FCA. Two fraudsters who scammed 65 individuals out of £1.5 million through fake crypto investments have rightly been sentenced to a combined 12 years in prison. Justice was swift, public, and commendable. But what about the 40,000 British victims of the QROPS scandal — robbed … Continue reading Dear Nikhil Rathi: A £1.5m Crypto Scam Got 12 Years — But What About £10bn QROPS Fraud?
🔷 Core Comparison: Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way vs. The GAME Plan
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (c. 1866–1949) was a mystic, philosopher, and spiritual teacher of Armenian and Greek descent, best known for developing a spiritual system known as The Fourth Way. Key Facts: Born: Around 1866, in the Russian Empire (modern-day Armenia or Georgia) Died: 1949, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France Work: Combined elements of Eastern mysticism, Sufism, Orthodox Christianity, … Continue reading 🔷 Core Comparison: Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way vs. The GAME Plan
💥 St. James’s Dis-Place
Why Advisers Are Ditching the Old Model for Autonomy, Empowerment, and Purpose “You can’t heal in the same place you got sick.” For years, thousands of financial advisers have been drawn to St. James’s Place (SJP) by the promise of prestige, support, and stability. But behind the glossy brochures and award dinners lies a truth … Continue reading 💥 St. James’s Dis-Place
💥 Beneath the Surface: The SJP Model and the Case for an Alternative
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning On the surface, St. James’s Place (SJP) projects resilience. Chief executive Mark FitzPatrick told the Financial Times that their revamped fees would “help customers compare and contrast.” The SJP Academy trains half of all new financial advisers in the UK. And with nearly £190 billion in client … Continue reading 💥 Beneath the Surface: The SJP Model and the Case for an Alternative
📉 Record FOS Complaints: A Symptom of Systemic Regulatory Failure
By Steve Conley,Founder, Academy of Life Planning “You cannot heal what you refuse to name.” The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has just reported a staggering 305,726 complaints for the financial year 2024/25 — a 50% increase year-on-year and the highest volume since the PPI redress scandal. But this isn’t just about statistics. This is a … Continue reading 📉 Record FOS Complaints: A Symptom of Systemic Regulatory Failure
Retire from the Delegator Firm—And Build an Empowering Firm for the New Age
"Human beings interpret change in different ways—some through logic and evidence, others through intuition, cycles, and symbols. What follows may not resonate with everyone, but for many, the transition from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius offers a compelling lens to understand what's unfolding in finance, politics, and society. Whether literal or … Continue reading Retire from the Delegator Firm—And Build an Empowering Firm for the New Age
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