AI Will Not Save Financial Advice — It Will Replace the Need for It

What McKinsey gets right—and what it means for restoring human agency A recent McKinsey & Company Quarterly article makes a quietly radical point. Despite near-universal adoption of AI across business functions, most organisations are not seeing meaningful value. The reason is not technological. It is strategic. Companies are focusing on productivity. And productivity, history shows, … Continue reading AI Will Not Save Financial Advice — It Will Replace the Need for It →

The Quiet Question Emerging Inside Financial Advice

There’s something shifting in the profession. Not loudly.Not in headlines or strategy decks.But in conversations — often behind closed doors, or in passing remarks that don’t quite get finished. A different kind of question is starting to surface. Not about products.Not about performance.Not even about regulation. But about role. The Question Beneath the Model Across … Continue reading The Quiet Question Emerging Inside Financial Advice →

Transfers Are Regulated. Outcomes Are Not.

A quiet gap in the system—and why it matters now There is a pattern emerging in the stories we see. Different people.Different advisers.Different jurisdictions. But the structure is remarkably consistent. A pension leaves the UK system.Multiple parties are paid along the way.And when things go wrong—no one appears to own the outcome. This isn’t a … Continue reading Transfers Are Regulated. Outcomes Are Not. →

Most People Don’t Read the Contracts They Sign.

Most People Don’t Read the Contracts They Sign. That’s Not a Personal Failure — It’s a System Design Problem. By the Academy of Life Planning A recent consumer survey of over 50,000 people by Survey Pop asked a simple question: How often do you read the fine print on a contract? The answers should give … Continue reading Most People Don’t Read the Contracts They Sign. →

Why Local-First Financial Planning May Be Safer Than Advice-Led Data Aggregation

By the Academy of Life Planning For decades, the financial advice model has operated on a simple premise: To help you, we must first hold your data. Your financial life—income, assets, liabilities, goals, vulnerabilities—is gathered, transferred, stored, and processed across a chain of systems: adviser CRMs, platforms, providers, paraplanning tools, and increasingly, AI. This model … Continue reading Why Local-First Financial Planning May Be Safer Than Advice-Led Data Aggregation →

The FCA’s Advice Market Report Reveals the Real Gap: Human Agency

By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning The FCA’s 2025 financial advice firms survey has been presented as a picture of a stable, resilient and evolving advice market. Look more closely, and it tells a deeper story. It reveals a market that is consolidating, digitising and preparing for AI, while still operating on an … Continue reading The FCA’s Advice Market Report Reveals the Real Gap: Human Agency →

Trail Commission Isn’t the Problem? Good. Now Let’s Talk About What Is.

The system is asking the wrong question—again There’s a growing consensus emerging in response to the FCA’s renewed focus on trail commission: “Trail commission isn’t the real problem.” Ed Dymott is right to highlight this. He points to something many inside the system already know: Billions trapped in legacy products Structural barriers to switching Tax … Continue reading Trail Commission Isn’t the Problem? Good. Now Let’s Talk About What Is. →

FCA Complaints Data: A System Improving—or a System Reframing the Numbers?

The latest complaints data from the Financial Conduct Authority presents a superficially reassuring picture. Complaint volumes remain broadly stable at 1.87 million. The proportion of complaints upheld has declined. Total redress has fallen. Average compensation per case is lower. Taken together, these figures might suggest a system gradually improving—firms resolving issues earlier, fewer serious failings … Continue reading FCA Complaints Data: A System Improving—or a System Reframing the Numbers? →

The Pipeline Question: Are We Building a Profession—or Feeding a System?

By Steve Conley In April 2026, the Personal Finance Society (PFS) announced that it had achieved a significant milestone: more than 500 new entrants recruited into its Pathway to the Profession initiative. Backed by a £1 million investment from PFS, the programme has been positioned as a bold step forward—lowering barriers to entry, widening participation, … Continue reading The Pipeline Question: Are We Building a Profession—or Feeding a System? →

Restoring Human Agency—Before, During, and After Financial Harm

By the Academy of Life Planning | http://www.academyoflifeplanning.com A Total Wealth Planner is someone who has restored their human agency—able to think clearly, act independently, and navigate life, money, and uncertainty without reliance on structurally untrustworthy systems. The Gap We’ve Been Designing Around For decades, financial planning has been framed as a service delivered at … Continue reading Restoring Human Agency—Before, During, and After Financial Harm →