The human purpose of financial planning is compelling. But does that mean the traditional financial advice business model is the only way to pursue it? By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning | 9 November 2026 A remarkable statistic According to research published by the Women's Wealth Alliance in 2025, 93% of women who … Continue reading 93% of Women Recommend Financial Advice as a Career. But Which Career Are They Recommending?
Tag: total-wealth-planning
A default is not a decision: introducing the Guided Retirement Challenge
Academy of Life Planning · Ask My Pension update Government, the Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator have published proposals for “guided retirement”. We have updated Ask My Pension so you can test any default against your own life before you accept it. What has been proposed The Department for Work and Pensions, the … Continue reading A default is not a decision: introducing the Guided Retirement Challenge
Retire from Regulated to Independent Financial Planning, Before AI Retires You
Why experienced financial advisers should plan their transition from asset-based remuneration while they still have the clients, relationships and choices to make it work. Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning | 8 November 2026 You've spent your career helping clients plan their retirement. But have you planned your own? Not simply when you will … Continue reading Retire from Regulated to Independent Financial Planning, Before AI Retires You
From Commission Bias to Asset-Retention Bias: How AI Will Transform Financial Planning
The UK's Retail Distribution Review (RDR) banned commission on advised retail investment products in 2012 because the regulator recognised that remuneration structures created conflicts of interest, distorted financial advice and caused consumer harm. Advisers could be incentivised to recommend particular providers, products or transactions because of how they were paid. But did the RDR eliminate … Continue reading From Commission Bias to Asset-Retention Bias: How AI Will Transform Financial Planning
Human Capital and the Future of Independent Financial Planning
Human Capital and the Future of Independent Financial Planning Why financial planners who do not manage financial assets should place human capability at the centre of their professional practice Academy of Life Planning | Research and Professional Practice Abstract Financial planning has traditionally concentrated on the accumulation, preservation and distribution of financial capital. However, economic … Continue reading Human Capital and the Future of Independent Financial Planning
Financial planning without asset hoovering: why AI changes the economics
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning | 4 November 2026 What if you could buy financial planning without agreeing to move your investments? What if the price reflected the help you needed, rather than how much money you had? And what if the person helping you had a reason to make you more … Continue reading Financial planning without asset hoovering: why AI changes the economics
Clients have AI too. What are planners for now?
By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning | 2 November 2026 Here is something our profession is slow to admit. Clients have AI too. They can ask questions at midnight. They can translate unfamiliar language, compare explanations and ask what might be missing from a recommendation. They can also ask a question that should … Continue reading Clients have AI too. What are planners for now?
Why agency matters now: build the ark before the rain
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning Most people do not wake up wanting financial advice. They wake up wondering whether they can afford to leave a job. Whether retirement is possible. How to help their children without putting their own future at risk. What to do when an institution they trusted lets them … Continue reading Why agency matters now: build the ark before the rain
BREATHING SPACE FOR TODAY: FRESH HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Budget 2026: what changes when we plan for a whole life? The key points for Total Wealth Planners are: Budget measurePlanning relevanceState Pension uprating changes from April 2030Revisit retirement forecasts that assume the existing Triple Lock continues indefinitely.Future National Care Service in EnglandMonitor developments, while retaining care-cost assumptions until entitlements and implementation are clear.Pension Tax … Continue reading BREATHING SPACE FOR TODAY: FRESH HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
The FCA identified the problem six years ago. Are you still paying for the wrong service?
What the regulator’s findings mean for people who wanted financial planning but were offered an ongoing investment relationship By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning You had a question. Could you afford to retire? Could you help your children financially? Could you buy your dream home? Could you change career without putting your future … Continue reading The FCA identified the problem six years ago. Are you still paying for the wrong service?
