Beyond the Three Questions: Towards a Fuller Life Planning Practice

Recently, a colleague in Italy raised an important concern: many advisers are well-trained in offering financial solutions, yet not sufficiently equipped to help clients truly discover their goals and purpose. Without clarity at this stage, even the most technically sound financial plan risks being “a good solution to the wrong problem.” This challenge is not … Continue reading Beyond the Three Questions: Towards a Fuller Life Planning Practice →

Why Holistic Wealth Planners Must Embrace the Whole-Person Paradigm

"Wealth is not just what you own. It is who you become." For decades, mainstream economics measured growth in narrow terms: GDP, output, financial assets. Yet research consistently shows that these traditional factors—capital, land, labour—cannot alone explain the drivers of prosperity. What’s missing is human capital—the knowledge, health, relationships, and inner strengths that enable people … Continue reading Why Holistic Wealth Planners Must Embrace the Whole-Person Paradigm →

London’s Dirty Money Problem: Why Deregulation Is No Growth Strategy

For centuries, London has been the beating heart of global finance. Its history is tied to empire, trade, and innovation. But behind the gleaming towers of the City lies another story—one of greed, capture, and complicity in the flow of dirty money. A recent article by Jochen Ressel traces how London became the world’s dirty … Continue reading London’s Dirty Money Problem: Why Deregulation Is No Growth Strategy →

The Trusted Adviser Project – My 15-Year Mission

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 →

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 →