Why Total Wealth Planner now reflects the person—and the proposition—you can experience today For years, the Total Wealth Planner website featured a photograph of me in a suit. I looked younger. Successful. Confident. Prosperous. It was a professional photograph of the sort commonly used throughout financial services. It conveyed experience, authority and achievement. The photograph … Continue reading The Man in the Suit Was Me. But He Is Not Me Now.
Tag: Financial Planning
Who Said Financial Planning Needed a Product Licence?
Why the trailblazers of financial planning are moving from the regulated 1% to the human 100% Most financial planners did not enter the profession because they wanted a licence to sell products. They entered because they wanted to help people. They wanted to help people make better decisions, avoid costly mistakes, prepare for uncertainty and … Continue reading Who Said Financial Planning Needed a Product Licence?
The Salary Trap: What Is a Graduate Really Signing Up For in an AUM Advice Firm?
The Graduate Advice Trap: Your Salary, Their Assets, Someone Else’s Business A graduate enters financial services wanting to become a financial planner. They want to help people understand money, make better decisions and build a life around what matters. The industry offers them something apparently reassuring: A salary. Training. Professional qualifications. A career path. Perhaps, … Continue reading The Salary Trap: What Is a Graduate Really Signing Up For in an AUM Advice Firm?
Same Expertise. Different Price.
Same Expertise. Different Price. The Academy of Life Planning has launched a new Cost Comparison Calculator to show what happens when the same level of professional expertise is priced in two very different ways. A Chartered Financial Planner can work in two fundamentally different models. As a conventional financial adviser, they may charge an ongoing … Continue reading Same Expertise. Different Price.
Financial Iceberg: ChatGPT Exposes Hidden Truths
Today I came across this post on LinkedIn: I ACCIDENTALLY UNLOCKED "GOD MODE" IN CHATGPT,AND IT STARTED TEACHING ME THINGS I DIDN'T KNEW EXISTED.HERE ARE THOSE 7 CHATGPT PROMPTS THAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING FOR YOU:Forbidden Wisdom DecoderPrompt:What are the lesser-known, under-the-surface truths about [insert topic/field] that are rarely shared publicly because they challenge mainstream thinking? … Continue reading Financial Iceberg: ChatGPT Exposes Hidden Truths
You Don’t Have to Abandon Advice to Start Restoring Agency
Many regulated financial advisers can see that the relationship between clients, technology and professional expertise is changing. They understand the argument for greater client capability. They recognise that AI is reducing information asymmetry. They may even agree that financial planning should leave people more able to understand, choose and act for themselves. But agreement does … Continue reading You Don’t Have to Abandon Advice to Start Restoring Agency
Agency Story No. 1: The Widow Who Didn’t Need Another Financial Adviser
Success should not always mean client retention Our inner circle discussed yesterday the example of a recently widowed client who initially lacked the confidence to manage her finances. After 18 months of patient explanation and practical support, she became capable of managing them independently. The planner became progressively less necessary. That is not a failed … Continue reading Agency Story No. 1: The Widow Who Didn’t Need Another Financial Adviser
Before You Accept That Graduate Financial Planning Job, Ask Yourself One Question
Not every financial planning career is built to achieve the same purpose. A growing number of graduates are entering financial planning because they genuinely want to help people. They enjoy personal finance. They care about psychology. They like solving problems. They want to make a positive difference to people's lives. The profession needs people like … Continue reading Before You Accept That Graduate Financial Planning Job, Ask Yourself One Question
From AI User to Total Wealth Planner: A Different Kind of Client Journey
What happened when one person spent weeks exploring Academy OS before asking for human support. For years, I've argued that artificial intelligence won't eliminate the need for financial planners. Instead, I believe it will change when people seek support, why they seek it, and what they expect from the conversation. Recently, I saw that theory … Continue reading From AI User to Total Wealth Planner: A Different Kind of Client Journey
Academy OS Is Now Live: AI That Strengthens Human Agency
For the past year, I've been building something that has gradually become much bigger than a collection of AI tools. Today, I'm pleased to announce the launch of the new Academy OS page on the Academy of Life Planning website. This isn't simply a software catalogue. It represents a different philosophy about the relationship between … Continue reading Academy OS Is Now Live: AI That Strengthens Human Agency
Academy of Life Planning 