“Any organisation that prioritises being within the rules over doing the right thing will not stand up to scrutiny for long.”– Andrew Bailey, FCA Annual Public Meeting, July 2019 While victims of pension fraud pleaded for justice, the silence from Britain’s top regulators grew louder. What began as isolated complaints has become a national disgrace: … Continue reading Regulatory Silence, Revolving Doors, and the Great Pension Betrayal →

By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning A recent Citywire profile introduces Dean Cheeseman as the newly empowered Chief Investment Officer at Mattioli Woods, now steering over £16bn of client assets. It paints the picture of a once-‘directionless’ accounting student turned titan of investment advice, just as Mattioli Woods announces a merger with Kingswood … Continue reading 🎩 “Meet the Advice CIO?” Or Meet the Unaccountable Power Behind £16bn? →

This week, the FCA took centre stage with FT Adviser headlines declaring a global crackdown on “illegal finfluencers.” As part of a coordinated international effort, the regulator claims to have issued dozens of warnings, takedown requests, and cease-and-desist letters—heralding its commitment to protecting consumers from rogue financial promotions online. Yet, while the FCA polices Instagram … Continue reading 🧊 Freezing at the Core: Why the FCA Targets Abroad While Ignoring the Fire at Home →

“Those three letters—FCA—make me feel physically sick.” This is the raw testimony of a retail investor, Mr N, who lost £120,000 to the failed mini-bond issuer Basset & Gold (B&G). His words lay bare a growing crisis in public trust—one not caused by market forces, but by systemic regulatory failure. This week as reported in … Continue reading “Zero Faith in the FCA”: The Human Cost of Regulatory Failure in the Basset & Gold Scandal →

Here’s your smoking gun. For those who’ve challenged me to produce evidence that the financial services industry is being propped up by falsified compliance records, hollow service claims, and regulator complicity—read on. A High Court dispute between St. James’s Place (SJP) advisers reveals far more than a contractual disagreement. It exposes the rot beneath the … Continue reading 💣 The £4m SJP Lawsuit That Blows a Hole in the FCA’s ‘Growth Agenda’ Cover Story →