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

Beyond Efficiency: Why the AI GAME Plan Is the Structurally Trustworthy Framework for Financial Planning

Three years after ChatGPT’s launch, artificial intelligence has officially come of age.As Nick Eatock notes in Money Marketing, AI is now mainstream in financial advice—praised for efficiency, data analysis, and compliance support. But in the rush to automate, one vital question remains largely unasked: Can AI be trusted to serve people rather than products? At … Continue reading Beyond Efficiency: Why the AI GAME Plan Is the Structurally Trustworthy Framework for Financial Planning

💠 Captured AI: When the Regulator Becomes the Sandbox

By Steve Conley, Founder – Academy of Life PlanningDecember 2025 | 5 Minutes Read 🧩 The New Frontier — or the Same Old Game? The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has just launched what it calls a “safe space for AI” — a controlled testing environment where the UK’s largest financial firms can experiment with artificial … Continue reading 💠 Captured AI: When the Regulator Becomes the Sandbox

When AI Knows the Law: What Becomes of the Lawyer? And What It Means for Citizen Investigators

By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning / Get SAFE “Knowing the law will be one thing — but AI will also know the law. The question is, what do you bring on top of that?”— Max Junestrand, CEO, Legora The legal world is being shaken to its foundations. Not by a new statute … Continue reading When AI Knows the Law: What Becomes of the Lawyer? And What It Means for Citizen Investigators

FOS Reforms: Why Citizen Investigators Must Step Forward Now

How the “Targeted Support” era reshapes justice for victims of financial harm 🧩 Introduction: When Protection Becomes Permission The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) — long seen as the last resort for ordinary consumers — is quietly transforming. Beneath the headlines of “operational efficiencies” and “targeted support,” we’re witnessing the reshaping of Britain’s financial justice landscape. … Continue reading FOS Reforms: Why Citizen Investigators Must Step Forward Now

From City Pro to Superhuman: The Rise of the Holistic Wealth Planner

💼 The City Has Grown, But Its Soul Has Shrunk What London’s job boom tells us about the future of financial planning “London financial services jobs have risen 30% since 2019.”At first glance, that sounds like a renaissance story — a post-Brexit, post-pandemic comeback for the Square Mile. But look closer, and a different picture … Continue reading From City Pro to Superhuman: The Rise of the Holistic Wealth Planner

🤖 When Algorithms Deny Humanity: The AI Arms Race in Health Insurance — and What It Teaches Us About Financial Justice

By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning In the United States this winter, a quiet war is unfolding in the world of health insurance.It’s not between doctors and patients, or even between insurers and regulators.It’s between two algorithms. One denies life-saving treatment.The other fights back. This “AI arms race” is reshaping the boundaries of … Continue reading 🤖 When Algorithms Deny Humanity: The AI Arms Race in Health Insurance — and What It Teaches Us About Financial Justice

🚖 Waymo vs. Uber: When the Driver Becomes the Passenger

Let me tell you a story. A friend of mine was in San Francisco recently and decided to try one of those new Waymo autonomous taxis.You just open an app, order a car, and a few minutes later, up it rolls — completely empty.No driver. No small talk. No “Sorry, mate, wrong turn.”Just a quiet … Continue reading 🚖 Waymo vs. Uber: When the Driver Becomes the Passenger

Financial advisers – your jobs have gone.You and your clients just don’t know it yet.

Financial advisers – your jobs have gone.You and your clients just don’t know it yet. That’s the uncomfortable starting point for this piece. Mind the gap? What gap? For years, the UK financial services industry and its regulators have talked about the advice gap – the millions who “need advice” but don’t get it. The … Continue reading Financial advisers – your jobs have gone.You and your clients just don’t know it yet.

Human Capital Is the Hidden Engine of Holistic Wealth

Lessons for Holistic Wealth Planners from the Human Capital–Gallup Correlation MapBy Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning Holistic Wealth Planners already know that numbers alone don’t create wealth — people do. Johan’s insightful mapping between Dr Mahesh Daru’s Human Capital Framework and Gallup’s Microeconomic Pathway makes this truth undeniable. It shows, with data and … Continue reading Human Capital Is the Hidden Engine of Holistic Wealth