By Steve Conley | 25 July 2025 If a regulated financial adviser made the claims Rachel Reeves has just made about ISA returns, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would likely uphold a complaint against them for misleading financial promotion. If not the FCA, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) would surely step in. But when it’s … Continue reading If Rachel Reeves Were a Financial Adviser, She’d Be Facing an FCA Misconduct Ruling
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💻 Crypto Scams & the Law: What You Need to Know About the UK’s Digital Asset Reform
Q: Why is the Law Commission’s latest proposal important for victims of crypto scams?A: The Law Commission’s June 2025 proposal introduces freestanding information orders — a new legal tool that allows victims to access critical information about their stolen crypto assets before committing to a costly legal claim. This could be a game-changer, reducing upfront … Continue reading 💻 Crypto Scams & the Law: What You Need to Know About the UK’s Digital Asset Reform
🕴️ Who Is Sir Humphrey?
Exposing the Invisible Hand That Keeps the Status Quo in Place “Minister, the ship of state is the only ship that leaks from the top.”—Sir Humphrey Appleby, Yes Minister In the battle for financial reform, it’s not always the elected officials who block change—it’s the quiet, well-dressed figures in the background. The ones who never … Continue reading 🕴️ Who Is Sir Humphrey?
🌍 Awakening the Aquarian Age: A Strategy to Transform the System from the Ground Up
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old one obsolete.” — Buckminster Fuller We are entering a new era—one defined not by hierarchy and control, but by decentralisation, transparency, and collective empowerment. The Academy of Life Planning, alongside Get SAFE and the M-POWER … Continue reading 🌍 Awakening the Aquarian Age: A Strategy to Transform the System from the Ground Up
Why White-Collar Britain Needs a GAME Plan
The age of AI has arrived — and it’s not the builders and bricklayers who should be worried. White-collar Britain is waking up to a rude shock. The cognitive class — long protected by degrees, desks, and digital skillsets — is now in the firing line of the very technology it helped create. The tables … Continue reading Why White-Collar Britain Needs a GAME Plan
🐷 Hands Off Our Pensions: Why Mandating Investment Isn’t Reform—It’s Raid
By Steve Conley | 9 July 2025 This week, Parliament debated the new Pension Schemes Bill—a bill that, if passed, would allow government ministers to direct how private pension funds are invested. It's being sold as a benign “backstop,” but to many in the profession, it looks less like reform and more like requisition. Bank … Continue reading 🐷 Hands Off Our Pensions: Why Mandating Investment Isn’t Reform—It’s Raid
Beyond the Perimeter: Why the Financial Ombudsman Is Failing Survivors of Financial Exploitation
"Justice too long delayed is justice denied." – Martin Luther King Jr. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was meant to be a safety net—a free, fair, and accessible route for ordinary people to seek redress when the financial system fails them. But for thousands of victims of financial exploitation, that promise rings hollow. At the … Continue reading Beyond the Perimeter: Why the Financial Ombudsman Is Failing Survivors of Financial Exploitation
Dear Nikhil Rathi: A £1.5m Crypto Scam Got 12 Years — But What About £10bn QROPS Fraud?
By Steve ConleyFounder, Academy of Life Planning 👏 Well done, FCA. Two fraudsters who scammed 65 individuals out of £1.5 million through fake crypto investments have rightly been sentenced to a combined 12 years in prison. Justice was swift, public, and commendable. But what about the 40,000 British victims of the QROPS scandal — robbed … Continue reading Dear Nikhil Rathi: A £1.5m Crypto Scam Got 12 Years — But What About £10bn QROPS Fraud?
💥 Exposing Britain’s Dirty Secret: Why I Fight for Transparency in the New Age
"Human beings interpret change in different ways—some through logic and evidence, others through intuition, cycles, and symbols. What follows may not resonate with everyone, but for many, the transition from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius offers a compelling lens to understand what's unfolding in finance, politics, and society. Whether literal or … Continue reading 💥 Exposing Britain’s Dirty Secret: Why I Fight for Transparency in the New Age
Are Finfluencers the Real Problem? Or Just the Easier One to Prosecute?
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning When the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) parades its efforts to clamp down on “finfluencers,” we should ask: are they tackling the real threats to financial integrity—or just chasing headlines? On June 10th, FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi appeared before the Treasury Committee, defending the regulator’s proactive stance … Continue reading Are Finfluencers the Real Problem? Or Just the Easier One to Prosecute?
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