“A society that invests in machines but neglects its people is not advancing—it is automating its own inequality.” For decades, financial planners and policymakers alike have placed their faith in education as the great equaliser. Build skills, gain qualifications, increase productivity—and wealth will follow.Yet new research reveals a disturbing paradox: in advanced economies, human capital … Continue reading Human Capital: The Forgotten Foundation of Total Wealth – Part 2
Tag: politics
⚠️ Hidden Downgrade: When Banks Reclassify Your Home to Seize It Cheaply
⚠️ The Hidden Downgrade: How Banks Reclassify Your Home to Seize It Cheaply For nearly two decades, a quiet sleight of hand has been used across Britain’s mortgage and securitisation system — a tactic that converts good-quality, low-risk, residential loans into buy-to-let “junk” assets ripe for exploitation. We’ve identified and documented this pattern repeatedly through … Continue reading ⚠️ Hidden Downgrade: When Banks Reclassify Your Home to Seize It Cheaply
Good People, Legacy Structures
Why Financial Education Needs Trustworthiness by Design Steve ConleyDecember 13, 2025 A note on intent I’m writing this as a financial educator and concerned citizen.This article is not about blame — individual or institutional.It’s about design: how well-intentioned initiatives can sometimes produce outcomes no one intended, simply because of the structures they operate within. A … Continue reading Good People, Legacy Structures
From the Age of Exploitation to the Age of Empowerment
By Steve Conley, Founder – Academy of Life Planning For two thousand years, humanity has lived under the long shadow of the Age of Pisces — the age of empire, conquest, and control. It began with the Romans and spread across continents through systems of colonisation that divided spirit from matter, body from soul, and … Continue reading From the Age of Exploitation to the Age of Empowerment
The Exploiters’ Playbook
How UK borrowers’ payments are routed through a web of orphan companies in London and offshore SPVs — tax-written to minimise leakage and shield investors from insolvency, while borrowers are kept in the dark Banks tell customers: “We’re still your lender.” Behind the scenes the credit has already been sliced, shipped and securitised. The industry … Continue reading The Exploiters’ Playbook
Britain’s Hidden Blast Radius: How Millions Are Trapped in Structurally Untrustworthy Debt — and What We Can Do About It
When the Post Office Horizon scandal shocked the nation, people asked, “How could this happen for so long?”The harder question is: how many other systems are quietly doing the same thing—every single day? The uncomfortable truth is that a far larger structural failure exists at the heart of Britain’s financial system.It doesn’t make the evening … Continue reading Britain’s Hidden Blast Radius: How Millions Are Trapped in Structurally Untrustworthy Debt — and What We Can Do About It
🏛️ Shouldn’t the Same Facts Be Available to Customers as to Investors?
By Steve Conley, Academy of Life Planning A good friend once said, “We’re only warming up.” That feels true today — because this isn’t about attacking any bank. It’s about ensuring truth, fairness, and balance in how information is shared. Recently, we reviewed the Lloyds Banking Group Fixed Income Investor Presentation (20 February 2025). Page … Continue reading 🏛️ Shouldn’t the Same Facts Be Available to Customers as to Investors?
💠 Should the Same Moral and Legal Standards Apply — Whether the Perpetrators Wear Post Office Badges or Bank Ties?
In December 2025, Parliament will once again host a vital conversation about justice — this time, concerning the Post Office Scandal.After years of heart-rending testimony, the police have confirmed that corporate manslaughter charges are now under consideration in relation to the Horizon IT failures that ruined hundreds of lives and, tragically, cost some their own. … Continue reading 💠 Should the Same Moral and Legal Standards Apply — Whether the Perpetrators Wear Post Office Badges or Bank Ties?
Lloyds Says Hoarding Capital Slows Growth — But Whose Growth Are We Talking About?
Charlie Nunn, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group When the chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group — the UK’s largest retail bank and one of the biggest recipients of post-crisis bailouts — calls on government to “go further” in deregulation, it’s worth pausing to ask: for whom? Charlie Nunn’s latest comments frame prudence as a … Continue reading Lloyds Says Hoarding Capital Slows Growth — But Whose Growth Are We Talking About?
The Rules of the Game Are Being Rewritten — and the Referees Are Looking the Other Way
By the Academy of Life Planning As 2025 draws to a close, the Bank of England has sent a mixed message:⚠️ Financial stability risks are rising, yet 🪓 capital requirements for banks are being cut. It’s a move that captures the paradox of modern finance — one hand tightening supervision of shadow banks like Goldman … Continue reading The Rules of the Game Are Being Rewritten — and the Referees Are Looking the Other Way
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