💥 Is Budget Anxiety Killing the AUM Adviser Fee Model?

By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning Adviser platforms are seeing record-breaking inflows — and yet, paradoxically, the AUM-based advice model is showing signs of terminal decline. According to new data from the lang cat, adviser platform outflows hit a record £17.94bn in Q3 2025 — the highest on record — even … Continue reading 💥 Is Budget Anxiety Killing the AUM Adviser Fee Model?

🌍 The Real Wealth of Nations: Lessons in Human Capital for Holistic Wealth Planners

“Wealth in the broadest sense includes people.” — Irving Fisher (1906) The world’s greatest untapped resource isn’t oil, gold, or digital currency — it’s human capital. A recent study from Riga Stradiņš University and al-Farabi Kazakh National University, “Problems of Development and Effective Use of Human Capital in Developing Countries” (Muravska et al., 2020), offers … Continue reading 🌍 The Real Wealth of Nations: Lessons in Human Capital for Holistic Wealth Planners

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

🌍 The Most Important Conversation You’ll Ever Have

Why the Future of Financial Planning Begins with the Soul Recently, a valued member of our community wrote to say that while he respected our work, he felt the Academy had “departed from holistic financial advice toward a more spiritual and altruistic purpose.” He wished us well but chose to step away, explaining that his … Continue reading 🌍 The Most Important Conversation You’ll Ever Have

🌌 The Six Invisible Laws Every Holistic Wealth Planner Should Know

— How to work with energy, ethics, and timing in the Aquarian Age of Empowerment In the world of holistic wealth planning, numbers and strategies matter — but energy, intention, and alignment matter more. The best planners don’t just design financial blueprints; they harmonise with deeper laws that govern all creation. These laws are not … Continue reading 🌌 The Six Invisible Laws Every Holistic Wealth Planner Should Know

Reframing Wealth: What Human Capital Teaches Us About Growth and Equality

In the pursuit of prosperity, policymakers have long debated the balance between growth and fairness. Yet a seminal study by Jean-Marie Viaene and Itzhak Zilcha — “Human Capital Formation, Income Inequality and Growth” (CESifo, 2001) — offers a powerful reminder: the true engine of both progress and equality is education, not capital. Their model, built … Continue reading Reframing Wealth: What Human Capital Teaches Us About Growth and Equality

💡 Budget Watch: What Rachel Reeves’ 100-Measure Budget Could Mean for You

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is reportedly weighing over a hundred separate tax and spending measures as she prepares the 2025 Budget— the next UK Budget is confirmed for Wednesday 26 November 2025. With the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warning of slower growth and tighter fiscal space, the government faces difficult choices about who pays, … Continue reading 💡 Budget Watch: What Rachel Reeves’ 100-Measure Budget Could Mean for You

💣 The Leverage Trap: Why Advice Consolidation Is the Next Financial Stability Risk

Replacing Extraction with Empowerment — Restoring Truth, Trust & Freedom in FinanceBy Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning (AoLP) & Get SAFE The Financial Conduct Authority has just sounded another quiet alarm. In a review published on 31 October 2025, the FCA warned that mounting debt, weak governance, and conflicted incentives within … Continue reading 💣 The Leverage Trap: Why Advice Consolidation Is the Next Financial Stability Risk

Retirement Decumulation: What to Consider When You’re Managing Your Own Finances

Understanding your options before you start drawing down your wealth Retirement isn’t just the end of work — it’s the beginning of a new financial rhythm.For those managing their own finances, the decumulation stage can be both liberating and daunting. You’ve built up your savings over decades — now the challenge is to turn that … Continue reading Retirement Decumulation: What to Consider When You’re Managing Your Own Finances

Human Capital Inequality and Life Expectancy: Lessons for Holistic Wealth Planners

“The true wealth of a nation lies not in its stock markets or its banks, but in the health, knowledge, and purpose of its people.” A 2008 study by Amparo Castelló-Climent and Rafael Doménech in The Economic Journal offers profound insights that every Holistic Wealth Planner should understand. Beneath its formal econometric modelling lies a … Continue reading Human Capital Inequality and Life Expectancy: Lessons for Holistic Wealth Planners