Where do you think helpful financial support crosses the line into dependency? We extended life. But we did not redesign financial planning around it. That is the central argument in Simon Chan’s recent article on how longer lives are changing what people need from financial advisers. It is an important argument, and much of it … Continue reading Longer Lives Need Better Navigation — Not Longer Dependency
Tag: mental-health
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
The Hot Shower: Jimmy Carr’s Outlook on Gratitude, Perspective and Modern Luxury
The Hot Shower Thought Most of us step into a hot shower without giving it a second thought. Jimmy Carr suggests we should. He points out that no king, emperor or celebrated figure from a century ago could reliably enjoy what millions of ordinary people now experience every morning: clean, instantly available hot water, delivered … Continue reading The Hot Shower: Jimmy Carr’s Outlook on Gratitude, Perspective and Modern Luxury
Industry Story No. 2: When Faster Complaint Resolution Becomes a Weaker Measure of Justice
When Faster Complaint Resolution Becomes a Weaker Measure of Justice The Financial Ombudsman Service has appointed Jenny Simmonds as permanent chief executive and James Dipple-Johnstone as permanent chief ombudsman, after both had occupied the positions on an interim basis since February 2025. The announcement praised improvements in operational performance. In particular, the Financial Ombudsman Service … Continue reading Industry Story No. 2: When Faster Complaint Resolution Becomes a Weaker Measure of Justice
Why the Future of Financial Planning Needs More Women (and Fewer Sales Targets)
There has never been a more interesting time for women to enter financial planning. But perhaps there has also never been a more important time to ask a different question. Not simply: "Which firm should I join?" But: "What kind of profession do I want to help build?" Recently, St. James's Place published an article … Continue reading Why the Future of Financial Planning Needs More Women (and Fewer Sales Targets)
Three Bridges, Three Islands, One Journey
Over the years, I have come to realise that the Academy of Life Planning has never really been a place. It has been a series of bridges. When I first started this journey, I thought I was helping planners cross a single divide. On one side stood financial advice. On the other stood financial planning … Continue reading Three Bridges, Three Islands, One Journey
What does the rise of AI girlfriends tell us about the state of human agency?
If millions of young people are choosing AI companions that never reject them, never challenge them, and never leave them, is the real story about artificial intelligence — or about what modern life is failing to provide? [Based on The terrifying rise of schoolboys making AI girlfriends, by Nicole Mowbray in The Telegraph Magazine. 6 … Continue reading What does the rise of AI girlfriends tell us about the state of human agency?
Before You Join a Financial Adviser Academy: The Questions Every Career Changer Should Ask
A recent career-change newsletter from St. James’s Place Financial Adviser Academy uses the idea of “learned helplessness” to speak to people who feel stuck, frustrated, or uncertain about their working lives. On one level, this is understandable. Many people do feel trapped in careers that no longer fit. Mid-life career dissatisfaction is real. So is … Continue reading Before You Join a Financial Adviser Academy: The Questions Every Career Changer Should Ask
Detox: Why Cleaning Belongs at the Heart of Personal Growth
Detox: Why Cleaning Belongs at the Heart of Personal Growth At its best, the Japanese philosophy of cleaning says: A clean space supports a clear mind.Caring for your environment is caring for yourself and others.No task is beneath you.Order is not control; it is respect.Cleaning is not preparation for life — it is part of … Continue reading Detox: Why Cleaning Belongs at the Heart of Personal Growth
Dead Firms. Live Harm. Delayed Justice.
Why agency before advice is becoming a consumer protection necessity A financial firm can disappear. The harm it caused often does not. That is the uncomfortable lesson emerging from recent analysis of Financial Ombudsman Service complaints and the wider enforcement record across UK financial services. Complaints are still being upheld against firms that are no … Continue reading Dead Firms. Live Harm. Delayed Justice.
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