Rising borrowing costs. Falling business valuations. Personal financial exposure. And the fear of speaking out. By Steve Conley | Founder, Academy of Life Planning You can be a successful financial adviser on paper and still be frightened about your own financial future. You may have spent years building a practice. You have clients who trust … Continue reading SJP Advisers: When the Numbers Stop Working, Who Can You Talk To?
Tag: finance
93% of Women Recommend Financial Advice as a Career. But Which Career Are They Recommending?
The human purpose of financial planning is compelling. But does that mean the traditional financial advice business model is the only way to pursue it? By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning | 9 November 2026 A remarkable statistic According to research published by the Women's Wealth Alliance in 2025, 93% of women who … Continue reading 93% of Women Recommend Financial Advice as a Career. But Which Career Are They Recommending?
Your Pension Is Part of Your Pay. Understanding It Should Be Part of Your Employee Benefits.
The Academy of Life Planning is developing the Independent Retirement Review: a workplace service combining AI-supported pension understanding, lifetime financial modelling and independent human planning. We are inviting accredited Total Wealth Planners to help build and deliver it. The missing employee benefit Employers spend billions providing pensions for their employees. Yet how many employees genuinely … Continue reading Your Pension Is Part of Your Pay. Understanding It Should Be Part of Your Employee Benefits.
A default is not a decision: introducing the Guided Retirement Challenge
Academy of Life Planning · Ask My Pension update Government, the Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator have published proposals for “guided retirement”. We have updated Ask My Pension so you can test any default against your own life before you accept it. What has been proposed The Department for Work and Pensions, the … Continue reading A default is not a decision: introducing the Guided Retirement Challenge
Retire from Regulated to Independent Financial Planning, Before AI Retires You
Why experienced financial advisers should plan their transition from asset-based remuneration while they still have the clients, relationships and choices to make it work. Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning | 8 November 2026 You've spent your career helping clients plan their retirement. But have you planned your own? Not simply when you will … Continue reading Retire from Regulated to Independent Financial Planning, Before AI Retires You
Your Employer Promised You a Pension. Can It Walk Away When Things Go Wrong?
Get SAFE | Support After Financial Exploitation Why Britain needs an Employer Pension Stewardship Duty alongside Lifetime Pension Evidence Protection. A pension is part of your pay. So where does your employer's responsibility end? When you take a job, your employer may promise more than a salary. There may be a pension. It forms part … Continue reading Your Employer Promised You a Pension. Can It Walk Away When Things Go Wrong?
From Commission Bias to Asset-Retention Bias: How AI Will Transform Financial Planning
The UK's Retail Distribution Review (RDR) banned commission on advised retail investment products in 2012 because the regulator recognised that remuneration structures created conflicts of interest, distorted financial advice and caused consumer harm. Advisers could be incentivised to recommend particular providers, products or transactions because of how they were paid. But did the RDR eliminate … Continue reading From Commission Bias to Asset-Retention Bias: How AI Will Transform Financial Planning
Human Capital and the Future of Independent Financial Planning
Human Capital and the Future of Independent Financial Planning Why financial planners who do not manage financial assets should place human capability at the centre of their professional practice Academy of Life Planning | Research and Professional Practice Abstract Financial planning has traditionally concentrated on the accumulation, preservation and distribution of financial capital. However, economic … Continue reading Human Capital and the Future of Independent Financial Planning
Financial planning without asset hoovering: why AI changes the economics
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning | 4 November 2026 What if you could buy financial planning without agreeing to move your investments? What if the price reflected the help you needed, rather than how much money you had? And what if the person helping you had a reason to make you more … Continue reading Financial planning without asset hoovering: why AI changes the economics
The Lost Pension Records Scandal: Britain’s Lifetime Pension Promises Need Lifetime Evidence
The Academy of Life Planning calls for Lifetime Pension Evidence Protection. Pension records should last as long as pension rights. By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning | 3 November 2026 Imagine working for forty years, contributing to your pension, and trusting that the benefits you have earned will be there when you need … Continue reading The Lost Pension Records Scandal: Britain’s Lifetime Pension Promises Need Lifetime Evidence
