But What If the Missing Asset… Is You? A new retirement report from Scottish Widows says 12.2 million people across the UK are at risk of “pension poverty.” The proposed solutions are familiar: Save more into pensions Increase auto-enrolment contributions Invest more for longer Build larger retirement pots Those things matter. But there is another … Continue reading 12.2 Million People Are Being Told They Face Pension Poverty.
Tag: finance
Fiduciary or Free Thinker? Why the “Best Interests” Badge May Not Mean What You Think
For years, consumers have been told to look for one word when choosing a financial professional: “Fiduciary.” The term sounds reassuring. Protective. Dependable. It suggests the person sitting across the table is legally and ethically required to put your interests first. And in many ways, that is true. But there is a deeper question very … Continue reading Fiduciary or Free Thinker? Why the “Best Interests” Badge May Not Mean What You Think
Op-ed: The Great Independent Advice Illusion
[A reflection on Citywire's article, How SJP advisers are using Policy Services to pitch independent advice 14 May 2026] By Steve Conley The financial advice profession has spent decades arguing over a question that, from a genuine life planning perspective, may matter far less than the industry would like to believe. Restricted or independent? Whole … Continue reading Op-ed: The Great Independent Advice Illusion
Most of Society Operates Outside the FCA Perimeter
Why restoring human agency is not a crime For many people in Britain, the phrase “unregulated” has quietly become synonymous with “illegal.” That confusion is growing. Every time headlines appear about unauthorised investment schemes, finfluencer prosecutions, pension scams, or illegal financial promotions, the public absorbs a subtle psychological message: If you are not FCA authorised, … Continue reading Most of Society Operates Outside the FCA Perimeter
The Launch of Total Wealth Plan: AI-Powered Planning for Life, Not Just Money: FREE | PRIVATE!
Try the Total Wealth Plan, for free For decades, financial planning has largely begun with the same question: “How much money do you have?” But perhaps the more important question is: “What kind of life are you trying to build?” Today, the Academy of Life Planning is launching a free AI-powered Total Wealth Plan service … Continue reading The Launch of Total Wealth Plan: AI-Powered Planning for Life, Not Just Money: FREE | PRIVATE!
Targeted Support Is Not the Same as a Life Plan
Why better nudges don’t replace better thinking—and why human agency matters more than ever There is a quiet shift underway in financial services. Providers are moving from passive information delivery to something more active—what the regulator now calls “Targeted Support.” The intention is clear: use data, behavioural insight, and simplified communication to help people make … Continue reading Targeted Support Is Not the Same as a Life Plan
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
When Your Bank “Invites You to Invest,” Understand What’s Really Happening
Steve Conley There is a quiet shift underway in UK financial services. After years of constraint following the Global Financial Crisis, banks are moving back toward wealth management—re-entering a space they were once forced to retreat from. But they are not coming back as they were. They are returning: with more advanced technology with more … Continue reading When Your Bank “Invites You to Invest,” Understand What’s Really Happening
If You Don’t Know Your Goals, the System Will Choose Them for You—And Charge You for the Privilege
By Steve Conley There’s a quiet shift happening in UK financial services. It isn’t being announced as a philosophical change.It’s being packaged as innovation. “No initial fees.”“Integrated wealth hubs.”“Advice made accessible.” But beneath the surface, something far more consequential is taking place: The system is moving from guiding decisions… to capturing them. The Illusion of … Continue reading If You Don’t Know Your Goals, the System Will Choose Them for You—And Charge You for the Privilege
Vulnerability, Capability, and the Total Wealth Planner
Reframing financial planning beyond the regulatory perimeter The financial services industry has long organised itself around regulation. Advice, products, permissions, and compliance frameworks form the dominant architecture through which financial decisions are understood and delivered. Yet this architecture, while necessary, is partial. It governs only a small part of the reality it seeks to influence. … Continue reading Vulnerability, Capability, and the Total Wealth Planner
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