Non-intermediating financial planning is older than my career. AI may finally make it economically obvious. I joined Refuge Assurance as an actuarial student in 1982. At the time, Professor Laurence Gower was already conducting the Review of Investor Protection that would help reshape British financial regulation. So there is an irony I had never appreciated … Continue reading The Financial Planning Business Model Parliament Could Imagine — But Not Believe Would Work
Tag: history
The Asset You Live Inside
From Earning Capacity to Human Possibility: Human Capital Lessons for the Total Wealth Planner The central argument is that conventional financial planning tends to treat human capital as an assumption behind the cashflow forecast—salary, retirement age and perhaps future earnings growth. The literature we have reviewed suggests something much richer. Human capital is an asset … Continue reading The Asset You Live Inside
Human Harm Story #1: The Judge Who Spoke Up for Justice—and Needed Protection From the Justice System
Before the harm Claire Gilham was a district judge. In her own words, she was what many people would regard as a “bog-standard district judge”: a general practitioner of the civil courts dealing with family disputes, road traffic accidents, mortgage and rent arrears, and the everyday conflicts through which ordinary people encounter the justice system. … Continue reading Human Harm Story #1: The Judge Who Spoke Up for Justice—and Needed Protection From the Justice System
The finance curse is devouring the UK
Is the Finance Industry Devouring the UK Economy — or Have We Forgotten What Creates Wealth? A recent article by Prem Sikka asks a provocative question: has Britain's obsession with finance come at the expense of the real economy? It is a question worth asking. For decades, successive governments have treated the financial services sector … Continue reading The finance curse is devouring the UK
What Should I Do When I Get a Legal Demand Letter in the Post?
A legal demand letter can change the atmosphere in a home. One moment you are getting on with your day. The next, an envelope lands on the mat carrying unfamiliar words, formal deadlines, reference numbers, threats of action, and an amount of money you may or may not understand. For many people, the first reaction … Continue reading What Should I Do When I Get a Legal Demand Letter in the Post?
When Silence Speaks Louder Than Accountability
What constitutional silence means for thousands of harmed British citizens In recent years, an estimated 40,000 British expatriates have reportedly suffered losses approaching £10 billion through pension failures, offshore investment collapses, regulatory gaps, and unresolved financial disputes linked to Crown Dependencies and Crown-aligned jurisdictions. For many affected families, the financial loss has been devastating. But … Continue reading When Silence Speaks Louder Than Accountability
What Kind of Financial Culture Do We Want to Help Normalise?
There is an important conversation quietly emerging beneath the surface of modern finance. It is not really about Bitcoin. Nor is it simply about regulation, investment returns, inflation, or technology. At a deeper level, it is about culture. More specifically: What kind of financial culture do we want to help normalise? Over the last decade, … Continue reading What Kind of Financial Culture Do We Want to Help Normalise?
The Evidence That Went Missing: One Business Owner’s Fight for Answers from Lloyds, Police and Regulators
In 2013, a Norfolk business owner walked into his bank with a concern. He believed something was wrong inside his own company accounts—potential fraud, possibly involving a senior employee. He expected support. Instead, he says, the system turned against him. What followed is a 12-year battle involving allegations of unauthorised payments, missing evidence, regulatory inaction, … Continue reading The Evidence That Went Missing: One Business Owner’s Fight for Answers from Lloyds, Police and Regulators
Another Redress Scheme, Another Compromise: When Justice Becomes a Calculation
The UK’s financial watchdog has drawn a clear line in the sand. Consumers who pursue car finance claims through the courts may be excluded from the Financial Conduct Authority’s £9.1bn redress scheme. The message is unmistakable: accept the scheme, or take your chances elsewhere. [Source: Financial Times | Go to court and lose out on … Continue reading Another Redress Scheme, Another Compromise: When Justice Becomes a Calculation
Human Capital: The Asset Most Planners Still Undervalue
Lessons for Total Wealth Planners from Human Capital Development Theory For decades, financial planning has been built around one dominant assumption: Wealth is something you accumulate. Assets.Portfolios.Pensions. But the research tells a very different story. Human capital—your ability to think, earn, adapt, and create—is not just part of wealth. It is the foundation of it. … Continue reading Human Capital: The Asset Most Planners Still Undervalue
