Understanding financial regulation in the UK is often portrayed as complicated, restrictive, or risky. In reality, the structure is logical, proportionate, and surprisingly navigable once you understand one central concept: The FCA’s perimeter isn’t a blanket over financial discussion. It is a targeted safeguard applied only to retail investment activities capable of causing direct financial … Continue reading The FCA Regulatory Perimeter: What It Is, Why It Exists, and What This Week’s Finfluencer Case Teaches Professionals
Tag: bitcoin
Bitcoin, AI and the Repricing of Risk
What the latest market shock means for Total Wealth Planners — and the conversations clients now need Bitcoin price plunges to lowest since 2024 as investors pull out of crypto The recent, record-breaking one-day sell-off in Bitcoin wasn’t just another bout of crypto volatility. It was a signal event — one that reveals how quickly … Continue reading Bitcoin, AI and the Repricing of Risk
Bitcoin Improves the Efficient Frontier Historically — But Not Reliably or Durably
By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning “In markets, as in life, what works in hindsight rarely works forever.” For seventy years, Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) has defined how we think about diversification. It tells us that by combining assets with different volatilities and correlations, we can create an efficient frontier — … Continue reading Bitcoin Improves the Efficient Frontier Historically — But Not Reliably or Durably
🚨 When “Crypto Education” Becomes a Risky Financial Promotion
There’s a lot of noise right now about crypto, DeFi, and the new “education academies” promising to show people how to get rich from them. I recently reviewed one such promotion, the Crypto & DEFI Academy, and I want to share what I found—not to rant, but to demonstrate what basic due diligence reveals. This … Continue reading 🚨 When “Crypto Education” Becomes a Risky Financial Promotion
💥 From Tinkerbell to Timebomb: Why Belief Alone Can’t Save Crypto from Collapse
By Steve Conley, Founder – Academy of Life Planning “Crypto isn’t a revolution. It’s an echo—amplifying the very flaws it claimed to fix.” As crypto adoption surges, so too does the sense of unease among critical thinkers and financial reformers. A recent commentary by Simon Ellis, supported by insights from JB Beckett, articulates what many … Continue reading 💥 From Tinkerbell to Timebomb: Why Belief Alone Can’t Save Crypto from Collapse
🦠 Is Bitcoin a Financial Virus?
Why Responsible Advisers Must Speak Up Bitcoin is lighting up red flags as it seeks entry into core investment portfolios. Let’s be clear: if an individual wants to speculate with a small satellite allocation, that’s their prerogative. But if I were a reputable product distributor, I wouldn’t want the liability of recommending Bitcoin as a … Continue reading 🦠 Is Bitcoin a Financial Virus?
The Growth Agenda: Asset Hoovering by Another Name
Why Deregulation Isn’t Growth—It’s Extraction, Repackaged “You can’t regulate for trust by dismantling the brakes.” In the wake of the Mansion House reforms, a familiar story is unfolding. The government’s so-called growth agenda is, in truth, a revival of the old Piscean order—an extractive financial system masquerading as economic progress. It’s not about real innovation … Continue reading The Growth Agenda: Asset Hoovering by Another Name
Bitcoin Doesn’t Inflate — But It Still Extracts
“Fixed supply doesn’t mean fair value.” Bitcoin is often hailed as the antidote to fiat money — a scarce digital asset immune to the whims of central banks. “You can’t print more Bitcoin,” say its advocates, “so it must be better than inflationary fiat.” But this argument misses something critical. Yes — Bitcoin doesn’t inflate … Continue reading Bitcoin Doesn’t Inflate — But It Still Extracts
Bitcoin’s Untold Backstory: Speculation, Gambling, and Market Mythology
“If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.” For years, Bitcoin has been marketed as a monetary messiah. A borderless, bankless utopia. A digital escape from inflation, central banks, and government control. But peel back the layers of myth, and a far more complex picture emerges—one involving gambling roots, market manipulation, and … Continue reading Bitcoin’s Untold Backstory: Speculation, Gambling, and Market Mythology
Is Bitcoin Really the World’s Most Ethical Asset? A Conscience Check.
I was recently challenged—respectfully but firmly—for expressing concern about Bitcoin’s role in our shared future. The criticism? That my take was “outdated and just plain wrong.” I welcomed it. Because in an age of shouting and silencing, there’s value in slowing down to listen. To revisit claims. To check facts. To sit with conscience, not … Continue reading Is Bitcoin Really the World’s Most Ethical Asset? A Conscience Check.
Academy of Life Planning 