“To reduce unduly expenditure on children may greatly lower their efficiency in after-life.” — Arthur Pigou, The Economics of Welfare (1928) Economists have long recognised that people—not money—are the true source of wealth. A recent academic study by Lucia Rizzica at University College London, Essays on the Economics of Human Capital, offers valuable lessons for … Continue reading What Economists Teach Us About Human Capital — Lessons for Holistic Wealth Planners
Tag: finance
2026: The Extinction of Lifetime Cashflow Modeller Businesses
2026 will mark the end of an era for lifetime cashflow modelling software — and possibly for many advisers who depend on it. We’ve seen them all: Voyant, Timeline, Prestwood Truth, CashCalc — once considered cutting-edge tools for financial planning. These systems were designed to help advisers demonstrate value and justify asset-based fees by answering … Continue reading 2026: The Extinction of Lifetime Cashflow Modeller Businesses
The Battle for Trust: Why St. James’s Place Can’t Own What It Doesn’t Build
St. James’s Place has just declared itself “the clear home of trusted financial advice in the UK.”With record gross inflows of £5.7 billion and total funds under management surpassing £212 billion, few would dispute its financial strength. But we must ask a deeper question: does financial success equate to trust? At the Academy of Life … Continue reading The Battle for Trust: Why St. James’s Place Can’t Own What It Doesn’t Build
The Enabling Environment: Why Structural Trust Is the True Engine of Wealth
“The key for the future of any country lies in the talent, skills, and capabilities of its people.”— Dr. Mahesh U. Daru, Human Capital: The Tool for Economic Growth and Development When we talk about wealth, our culture still reaches first for money. But as Dr. Mahesh Daru’s paper reminds us, it is people—not capital—that … Continue reading The Enabling Environment: Why Structural Trust Is the True Engine of Wealth
The End of the Industrial Adviser Model: What the Vanguard Study Really Shows
A new study from Vanguard has revealed a quiet revolution underway in financial advice — and most advisers don’t even see it coming. Almost half of clients surveyed said they would like to meet their financial adviser more than once a year. On the surface, this might look like a call for better service. In … Continue reading The End of the Industrial Adviser Model: What the Vanguard Study Really Shows
🌍 The Academy of Life Planning — A Brand Story for the Age of Empowerment
1. The Call to Adventure For generations, people have been taught to trust intermediaries —financial advisers to tell them what to do with their money,religious institutions to tell them what to believe,corporations and governments to tell them what to value. But something inside them whispers: There must be another way.A way to reclaim agency, rediscover … Continue reading 🌍 The Academy of Life Planning — A Brand Story for the Age of Empowerment
When “Compliance” Becomes Control — and How Ethical Oversight Restores Trust
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life PlanningOctober 2025 – 5 min read When financial “compliance” is used well, it protects clients.When it’s misused, it protects power. That was the lesson behind our recent case study, “When Compliance Goes Wrong — How the Academy of Life Planning Stepped In to Restore Fairness and Professional Standards.” … Continue reading When “Compliance” Becomes Control — and How Ethical Oversight Restores Trust
From Fee-for-No-Service to Empowered Planning: A New Chapter for Ongoing Advice
In recent years, one of the most striking stories in UK wealth management has centred on SJP. What started as the promise of ongoing advice, review and service has instead, for many clients, become a worrying case-study of paying for something not delivered. The SJP story: When “ongoing advice” became a contested charge SJP has … Continue reading From Fee-for-No-Service to Empowered Planning: A New Chapter for Ongoing Advice
Case Study: When Compliance Goes Wrong — How the Academy of Life Planning Stepped In to Restore Fairness and Professional Standards
A true story (with identifiers removed) illustrating why conduct supervision and mentorship matter — both inside and outside the FCA perimeter. 1. The Background: From Adviser to Empowered Planner After years working in a traditional financial-advice firm, one planner decided to take a bold step: to leave the world of product intermediation and build a … Continue reading Case Study: When Compliance Goes Wrong — How the Academy of Life Planning Stepped In to Restore Fairness and Professional Standards
💡 Why Equal Access to Human Capital Is the New Engine of Growth
Lessons from global research on education, inequality, and empowerment In 2002, economists Amparo Castelló and Rafael Doménech published a groundbreaking study, Human Capital Inequality and Economic Growth, examining data from over a hundred countries between 1960 and 2000. Their findings carry profound implications not just for policymakers — but for us as Holistic Wealth Planners … Continue reading 💡 Why Equal Access to Human Capital Is the New Engine of Growth
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