“History doesn’t repeat — it compounds.” In 1993, thousands of wealthy professionals opened letters from Lloyd’s of London demanding sums that made no sense.£300,000. £1 million. £3 million.Not what they’d invested — what they owed. Doctors. Farmers. Aristocrats. Widows.All ruined by a system that told them they were special. They were called “Names.” They pledged … Continue reading The Next Lloyd’s of London: How Structural Untrustworthiness Still Destroys Lives
Tag: philosophy
Key lessons for Holistic Wealth Planners
Here are the key lessons Holistic Wealth Planners can draw from Education, Growth and Income Inequality by Coen Teulings and Thijs van Rens: 1. Human Capital Drives Growth—But With Diminishing Returns The study confirms that education (a proxy for human capital) boosts GDP, but each additional year of education contributes less than the last. In … Continue reading Key lessons for Holistic Wealth Planners
Key lessons for a Holistic Wealth Planner
Here are the key lessons for a Holistic Wealth Planner from “Human Capital, Poverty, and Income Distribution in Developing Countries” by Minh Quang Dao (Journal of Economic Studies, 2008). 🌱 1. Human Capital is the True Engine of Wealth The study confirms that improvements in education, health, and nutrition directly reduce poverty and inequality. For … Continue reading Key lessons for a Holistic Wealth Planner
Lessons for the Chancellor: Human Capital as the Foundation for Sustainable Prosperity
(Drawing on Siriwan Saksiriruthai, “Human Capital as a Determinant of Long-Term Economic Growth,” 2018) 1. Shift the Budget from Consumption to Capability The study demonstrates that countries which sustain long-term growth invest systematically in human capital — not short-term stimulus or consumption. Fiscal strategies centred on transfers and subsidies may relieve pain temporarily but fail … Continue reading Lessons for the Chancellor: Human Capital as the Foundation for Sustainable Prosperity
Reconceptualising Wealth: From Human Capital to Human Capability
In the Academy of Life Planning, we believe wealth is not what you have — it’s what you can do.This philosophy resonates powerfully with a landmark paper by Paula England and Nancy Folbre, Reconceptualizing Human Capital (2000) — a text that redefines what it means to be “wealthy” in human terms. Beyond the Balance Sheet … Continue reading Reconceptualising Wealth: From Human Capital to Human Capability
Inside the Slaughterhouse: What Structural Untrustworthiness Feels Like
Structural untrustworthiness is not built from villains.It’s built from fear, ambition, and obedience — woven into a system that rewards the wrong instincts and punishes the right ones. Within such a structure, people don’t set out to destroy lives.They drift into doing so, one rationalisation at a time. 🩸 The Anatomy of Structural Untrustworthiness 1. … Continue reading Inside the Slaughterhouse: What Structural Untrustworthiness Feels Like
When Professional Bodies Forget the Public: What the ICAEW AGM Tells Us About Structural Capture
Professional bodies were created to uphold standards, protect the public, and act as the ethical compass of their industries. When they function well, they safeguard trust. When they drift, the consequences ripple across the whole financial ecosystem. In July 2025, Professor Atul K. Shah — a respected academic, ICAEW fellow, and long-time advocate for ethics … Continue reading When Professional Bodies Forget the Public: What the ICAEW AGM Tells Us About Structural Capture
The 95% Myth: How the Advice Industry Manufactures Trust While Silencing the Truth
Why a single headline tells you everything about the system we are fighting to change This week, a new claim appeared across the trade press: “95% say financial advice helps them hit financial goals.”(Opinium survey of 8,000 UK adults, commissioned by St. James’s Place.) To the casual observer, it reads like a national truth.To those … Continue reading The 95% Myth: How the Advice Industry Manufactures Trust While Silencing the Truth
When Bureaucracy Forgets Its Purpose: How AI Helps Citizens Stand Tall Again
Across the country, thousands of ordinary people are discovering the same uncomfortable truth: the systems designed to protect us are often the very systems that overwhelm us. Recent events shared by members of our community highlight the widening gap between process and people inside major public institutions. When a frail 94-year-old lifelong resident receives a … Continue reading When Bureaucracy Forgets Its Purpose: How AI Helps Citizens Stand Tall Again
Rebuilding Structural Integrity in Finance: Protecting Consumers Through Open AI, Independent Planning, and Systemic Reform
Written Testimony for the APPG on Investment Fraud & Fairer Financial ServicesSubmitted by: Steve Conley, Founder – Academy of Life Planning (AoLP) & Get SAFEDate: 13 November 2025 1. Background I am the Founder of the Academy of Life Planning (AoLP), an international network of non-intermediating Holistic Wealth Planners, and the Founder of Get SAFE … Continue reading Rebuilding Structural Integrity in Finance: Protecting Consumers Through Open AI, Independent Planning, and Systemic Reform
Academy of Life Planning 