An Academy of Life Planning perspective on Britain’s overdue reckoning Last week, Michael Mainelli, Chairman of Z/Yen Group and former Lord Mayor of the City of London, published a sharp and timely intervention calling on the UK to stop avoiding international scrutiny and finally participate in the OECD PISA Financial Literacy Assessment. His argument is … Continue reading From Evidence to Empowerment: Why Financial Literacy Tests Are Necessary — and Why They Are Not Enough
Tag: ai
AI Is at the Door — and It’s Knocking in 2026
AI Is at the Door — and It’s Knocking What Matthew Griffin’s warning really means for the future of financial planning Dear reader, the quote below isn’t just an observation. It’s a signal flare. When Matthew Griffin — widely described as “the adviser behind the advisers” — says “AI is coming for your lunch”, he’s … Continue reading AI Is at the Door — and It’s Knocking in 2026
AI Banking Is Scaling Faster Than Consumer Protection
Why financial modernisation without accountability is creating the next harm wave The banking industry is once again telling a familiar story. Legacy banks must “radically modernise,” adopt artificial intelligence, and compete with fast-moving fintech challengers or risk irrelevance. Former Antony Jenkins has framed this moment as existential: upgrade technology or lose ground to digital-native rivals … Continue reading AI Banking Is Scaling Faster Than Consumer Protection
What Total Wealth Planners Can Learn from the “Education Irony”
Most people arrive at financial planning believing education equals security.Degrees. Credentials. Certifications.Yet the evidence increasingly shows a deeper problem: education can fail to develop the very human capabilities people need to navigate work, money, and life well. A recent peer-reviewed study, The Education Irony: When College Degrees Lead to Unemployment, Mindless Thinking, Debt, and Despair, … Continue reading What Total Wealth Planners Can Learn from the “Education Irony”
Why £497 Is the Right Price for Real Planning — And Why It’s Finally Possible
For more than a decade, policymakers have asked the same question: Why don’t more people access financial advice? The answer has never been a lack of interest.It has been a mismatch between what people value, what the system delivers, and what it costs to provide. At the Academy of Life Planning, we are now offering … Continue reading Why £497 Is the Right Price for Real Planning — And Why It’s Finally Possible
Total Wealth Planners: The Antidote to Inequality — Without Ideology
Inequality is usually framed as a political problem.But increasingly, it’s a structural one. The gap widening beneath modern economies isn’t only about income or assets. It’s about who gets access to judgment, responsibility, and compounding human capital—and who doesn’t. A recent reflection prompted by a study on education pathways, alongside a Wall Street Journal article … Continue reading Total Wealth Planners: The Antidote to Inequality — Without Ideology
From Intermediation to Ownership:
What the US Adviser Awakening Signals for Global Total Wealth Planners in 2026 2025 may go down as the year the wealth-management industry finally admitted what many advisers had quietly felt for years: The ground has shifted — structurally, technologically, and psychologically. In the US, record consolidation, forced platform migrations, and accelerating breakaways exposed a … Continue reading From Intermediation to Ownership:
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys — What This Means for You
If you are dealing with a dispute, complaint, or legal process, you may already feel overwhelmed, mistrustful, or exhausted. This page is here to steady the ground, not to push you into action. You do not need to be a lawyer.You do not need to do anything differently today.This is about understanding, not escalation. Summary: … Continue reading Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys — What This Means for You
From Human Capital to Human Capability
Why Total Wealth Planning Is the Next Evolution of the Profession For decades, financial planning has rested on a deceptively simple assumption:that if people are given the right information and the right products, good outcomes will follow. But reality keeps proving otherwise. Despite ever more sophisticated modelling, ever thicker reports, and ever greater volumes of … Continue reading From Human Capital to Human Capability
Total Wealth Planning™ Is No Longer a Fringe Idea
“Moving from restricted planning to whole-of-wealth planning isn’t a change of tools —it’s a change of allegiance: from products to people.” Steve ConleyAcademy of Life Planning Why 2026 Is the Year the Profession Must Change By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning | December 2025 For more than a decade, the Academy of Life … Continue reading Total Wealth Planning™ Is No Longer a Fringe Idea
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