A true story (with identifiers removed) illustrating why conduct supervision and mentorship matter — both inside and outside the FCA perimeter. 1. The Background: From Adviser to Empowered Planner After years working in a traditional financial-advice firm, one planner decided to take a bold step: to leave the world of product intermediation and build a … Continue reading Case Study: When Compliance Goes Wrong — How the Academy of Life Planning Stepped In to Restore Fairness and Professional Standards
Tag: technology
Why ChatGPT Users Aren’t the Industry’s Next Leads — They’re the Industry’s Successors
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning When St James’s Place AI lead Peter Ferguson recently told the Money Marketing conference that “people using ChatGPT for advice could be a good thing,” he was half right. Yes — it is a good thing.But not for the reason he imagines. Ferguson suggested that AI users … Continue reading Why ChatGPT Users Aren’t the Industry’s Next Leads — They’re the Industry’s Successors
Targeted Support or Targeted Sales? Who Really Benefits from the FCA’s ‘Radical’ Reform?
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning When Sarah Pritchard, Deputy CEO at the Financial Conduct Authority, called targeted support “revolutionary and quite radical,” she wasn’t wrong — but the revolution may not be the one consumers need. The FCA’s new targeted support framework promises to close the advice gap by allowing firms to … Continue reading Targeted Support or Targeted Sales? Who Really Benefits from the FCA’s ‘Radical’ Reform?
🌍 Beyond Robo-Advice: How Life-First AI Can Redefine Wealth for Humanity
“If we train AI on product pipelines, it will entrench dependency.If we train it on human purpose, it will amplify sovereignty.” Artificial intelligence is transforming finance — but so far, it’s been trained to think like a salesperson, not a human being. Recent moves by big tech into financial advice (see below) signal a powerful … Continue reading 🌍 Beyond Robo-Advice: How Life-First AI Can Redefine Wealth for Humanity
⚖️ Synthesis: The Subtle Convergence of AI Adoption and Industry Capture in Financial Planning
AI adoption in financial services is being celebrated as a breakthrough in efficiency, compliance, and client experience. However, beneath the optimism lies a quieter, more consequential transformation: the fusion of automation with legacy industry assumptions. At face value, these discussions appear progressive — focused on productivity, human-AI collaboration, and ethical awareness. The rhetoric emphasises safety, … Continue reading ⚖️ Synthesis: The Subtle Convergence of AI Adoption and Industry Capture in Financial Planning
🌍 The Age of Empowerment: Building a Future Where People Train the Machines
“The river of humanity always finds its way to the sea — no matter how many rocks lie in its path.” The age of empowerment has begun. For centuries, power has flowed upwards — from people to institutions, from workers to shareholders, from communities to corporations. The financial system became the crown jewel of that … Continue reading 🌍 The Age of Empowerment: Building a Future Where People Train the Machines
Litigant in Person: How to Survive and Succeed When the System Leaves You on Your Own
By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning & Get SAFE “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.”— Abraham Lincoln Perhaps that was true in the 19th century.But in 2025, with AI, open knowledge, and solidarity between citizen investigators, that saying is being rewritten. ⚖️ A David vs Goliath Battle … Continue reading Litigant in Person: How to Survive and Succeed When the System Leaves You on Your Own
⚖️ Why We Still Need Claims Management Companies: Protecting the Public in a Captured System
By Steve Conley, Founder – Academy of Life Planning The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a new multi-agency crackdown on “misleading” advertising by claims management companies (CMCs) and certain law firms handling motor-finance cases. The initiative, coordinated with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), is … Continue reading ⚖️ Why We Still Need Claims Management Companies: Protecting the Public in a Captured System
📰 From Headlines to Justice: How Citizen Investigators Can Use AI to Track Their Cases
“Information is power — but only if you can keep hold of it.” One of the biggest frustrations for victims of financial exploitation is that stories flare up in the news and then… nothing. Months go by. Updates are hidden behind paywalls or buried in regulatory filings. By the time the next development surfaces, it’s … Continue reading 📰 From Headlines to Justice: How Citizen Investigators Can Use AI to Track Their Cases
FCA Opens Door to Adviser Charging for Targeted Support – But Who Will Pay?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has on Friday published its latest consultation paper (CP25/26), opening the door for adviser firms to charge consumers for “targeted support”. This new category of regulated activity is pitched as a middle ground between full financial advice and generic guidance, aimed at helping millions of people who may not be … Continue reading FCA Opens Door to Adviser Charging for Targeted Support – But Who Will Pay?
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