Understand what you pay. Test what you receive. Decide what you need. By Steve Conley | Academy of Life PlanningUK consumer guide | 24 October 2026 You do not need to become a financial expert to ask better questions of one. Your adviser may provide valuable expertise, reassurance and practical support. You are entitled to … Continue reading Top Ten AI Prompts to Use on Your Financial Adviser
Tag: finance
Bring Me Your Problem, Not Your Portfolio
Why you might need to talk to a different kind of financial professional A woman approaching retirement asks for “professional financial advice”. She is 63, earns around £50,000 a year and hopes to retire at 67. She has several pensions from different jobs, including an NHS pension, but no cash savings or investments outside them. … Continue reading Bring Me Your Problem, Not Your Portfolio
You can have more money and still feel that something is missing
Introducing the Total Wealth Wheel — free to use You can have a healthy bank balance and no time to enjoy it. A successful career and relationships that rarely get your attention. A carefully planned retirement and little idea what you want to retire into. We recognise these situations. Yet when we talk about wealth, … Continue reading You can have more money and still feel that something is missing
Good financial planning has a future. Investment intermediation must earn its place.
When AI helps consumers understand, question and decide, the value of human support cannot automatically justify the cost of the investment channel attached to it. Ask what happens to financial services when consumers become dramatically more capable, and a familiar defence appears. Good financial planning is about more than technical competence. People value coaching, education, … Continue reading Good financial planning has a future. Investment intermediation must earn its place.
What happens when retail investment consumers become “superintelligent”?
When clients can interrogate the expertise they once had to take on trust, the investment industry faces a question bigger than automation: what are people still paying to depend on? The days when retail investment advisers could shout down their critics and expect everyone else to look the other way should be well and truly … Continue reading What happens when retail investment consumers become “superintelligent”?
T.F.O friday: Building a Total Family Office for Every Family
Most families have pieces of a plan. Few have a plan that connects the pieces. A pension here. A mortgage there. A will written years ago. An ageing parent who may need care. Children finding their feet. Perhaps a business, a property, or responsibilities shared across generations. Each part may have received attention. But who … Continue reading T.F.O friday: Building a Total Family Office for Every Family
When do you change your business model? Before the cash cow stops paying.
AI may take years to reshape financial planning. The time available to build a viable alternative could be much shorter. By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning Your business is profitable. Clients are staying. The existing model still pays the bills. Meanwhile, a new technology promises to change what customers can do for themselves … Continue reading When do you change your business model? Before the cash cow stops paying.
AI-led advice—or an AI-led route to your money?
Open comparison can expose the cost of distribution. Commercially captured AI can channel customers into it. By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning A recent Citywire headline announced Moneybox’s plans to roll out AI-led advice. With two million customers and £23 billion in assets under administration, the story promises an explanation of how the … Continue reading AI-led advice—or an AI-led route to your money?
What is good for the City is not necessarily good for the country
When central bankers intervene in government spending choices, we should ask whose definition of prosperity is setting the limits. By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning An elected government prepares its Budget. The Governor of the Bank of England warns about credibility, rising spending and the possibility of another crisis. A newspaper invokes the … Continue reading What is good for the City is not necessarily good for the country
What Is Freedom Worth If You Cannot Afford to Exercise It?
Why personal capability and a fairer economy belong in the same conversation. By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning We tell people to take responsibility for their lives. Save for the future. Develop their skills. Make better decisions. But what happens when someone makes careful decisions and still cannot afford a secure home? When … Continue reading What Is Freedom Worth If You Cannot Afford to Exercise It?
