The South African financial planning profession stands at a pivotal crossroads. Insights from the recent Adviser Barometer 2024/25 webinar, presented by Taryn Duncan of Allan Gray and Mark Polson of UK-based consultancy The Lang Cat, reveal a powerful global trend: the future of advice is moving away from product selection and towards client empowerment through … Continue reading Why Now is the Time for South African Financial Planners to Embrace a Planning-Led, Relationship-Driven Future
Tag: investing
Planning the Person, Not the Portfolio: The Future of Financial Life Planning
In the world of traditional financial advice, the focus has too often been on the portfolio rather than the person.The processes of factfinding, risk profiling, and cashflow modelling have been framed as the core of “planning” — yet these steps have been primarily designed to lead clients towards product implementation. At the Academy of Life … Continue reading Planning the Person, Not the Portfolio: The Future of Financial Life Planning
From Patient to Planner: How the Academy of Life Planning Applies NHS Principles to Financial Well-Being
At the Academy of Life Planning, we believe in turning proven healthcare philosophies into powerful financial planning principles. Inspired by the NHS Long Term Plan and the person-centered care model, we’ve developed an approach to wealth that treats individuals not as passive recipients of financial advice, but as active participants in their own prosperity. Just … Continue reading From Patient to Planner: How the Academy of Life Planning Applies NHS Principles to Financial Well-Being
From Horse and Cart to Ferrari: The Evolution from Traditional Financial Planning to Holistic Wealth Planning
By Steve ConleyFounder, Academy of Life Planning What’s the difference between traditional financial planning and holistic wealth planning? It’s a question I’m often asked, and the answer is both simple and profound. Andy Agathangelou, founder of the Transparency Taskforce and a lifelong veteran of the financial services industry, once described our work together in a … Continue reading From Horse and Cart to Ferrari: The Evolution from Traditional Financial Planning to Holistic Wealth Planning
From Earnings to Impact: Redefining Human Capital through Holistic Wealth Planning
From Earnings to Impact: Redefining Human Capital through Holistic Wealth Planning By Steve Conley In the conventional world of financial planning, human capital is often reduced to a mathematical abstraction—the present value of future earnings. This narrow view, rooted in neoclassical economic thought, fails to capture the full spectrum of human potential and the expansive … Continue reading From Earnings to Impact: Redefining Human Capital through Holistic Wealth Planning
“A Stain on Our Industry”: SJP Acknowledges Past Failings in the Protection Market
In the shadows of the financial advice world, where trust should be sacred and transparency non-negotiable, a quiet reckoning has begun. One of the UK’s largest and most influential advice firms, St. James’s Place (SJP), has finally broken rank and spoken out. Not about success. Not about service. But about failure. Let’s call it what … Continue reading “A Stain on Our Industry”: SJP Acknowledges Past Failings in the Protection Market
Case Study: Empowering Financial Independence After Bereavement
Background Sarah, a 56-year-old widow, approached us in June 2023 following the loss of her husband 18 months prior. In addition to grieving her husband, Sarah had also been a primary caregiver for her father, whom she also lost recently. These life-altering events left her emotionally drained and facing significant financial anxiety. Sarah's late husband … Continue reading Case Study: Empowering Financial Independence After Bereavement
Your Money or Your Life: The Insurance Industry Pounced
Tick, tick, boom. This was the moment they were waiting for. While the government slashes £5 billion from welfare, the insurance industry swoops in with a smile and a business plan. The Income Protection Task Force didn’t miss a beat—they’ve written to the Prime Minister offering to “play a pivotal role” in supporting benefit reforms. … Continue reading Your Money or Your Life: The Insurance Industry Pounced
Become a Holistic Wealth Planning Business: A Future-Ready Encore Career for Financial Professionals
If you’re a financial professional feeling the weight of regulatory pressure, or a corporate adviser ready for a more values-aligned encore career, you’re not alone. Many experienced professionals in finance, particularly those nearing retirement or recovering from burnout, are rethinking their path forward. They’re asking: “Is there a way to use my skills without compromising … Continue reading Become a Holistic Wealth Planning Business: A Future-Ready Encore Career for Financial Professionals
The Fastest Way to Change the System? Stop Fighting It and Build a New One
Buckminster Fuller once said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” That’s exactly what I’ve done throughout my career—and what we’re doing now in financial planning. The Hard Truth About Top-Down Change For years, as an Ambassador for the Transparency … Continue reading The Fastest Way to Change the System? Stop Fighting It and Build a New One
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