“I now know where I’m going”: early feedback on Get ICE There is a moment in planning when the question changes. You begin with “What am I going to do?” and find yourself asking “What shall I do first?” One of the first people to try Get ICE described that shift in a comment this … Continue reading “I now know where I’m going”: early feedback on Get ICE
Tag: total-wealth-planning
Who Is the AI Operating System For?
A firm can become more efficient while its clients remain just as dependent. That is the question beneath this week's agentic AI announcements. Imagine joining a wealth management firm. You upload identification, answer questions about your finances and supply documents. An AI agent notices what is missing, prepares the forms, starts identity and sanctions checks, … Continue reading Who Is the AI Operating System For?
Customers Have AI Too!
The profession is asking how AI can make advisers more productive. What happens when it makes customers more capable? This week, financial planners gather in Windsor to “turn the page on established thinking”. Here is the page I would turn. Imagine your next prospective client arriving on a video call. They have organised their financial … Continue reading Customers Have AI Too!
Labour Must Recognise the Old Market Mantra—Even When It Calls Itself “Holistic Planning”
Bringing back bancassurance will not, by itself, rebalance power towards ordinary people. Banks should be judged by the agency they build, not just the assets they gather. By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning30 September 2026 A bank announces that it wants to return to advice in a “massive way”. Its executive tells Labour … Continue reading Labour Must Recognise the Old Market Mantra—Even When It Calls Itself “Holistic Planning”
From advice to agency: are investors signalling a bigger shift?
Direct investment platforms are growing faster than the advised market. Is this simply a story about apps and advertising—or an early signal that people are changing the kind of help they want? By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning30 September 2026 For years, the familiar message has been: financial decisions are complicated, so find … Continue reading From advice to agency: are investors signalling a bigger shift?
Are you ready to build a whole-person planning practice?
A new practice does not always begin with a new qualification. Sometimes it begins with a different idea of what your qualifications are for. Many professionals have spent years becoming good at the work. They can analyse complex situations, explain trade-offs and help people make consequential decisions. Yet the structure around them often defines their … Continue reading Are you ready to build a whole-person planning practice?
The life plan is yours. Who owns the assets?
A question for life planners working inside regulated firms You sit with someone and ask what matters. You help them see the life they want, the trade-offs they face and the choices they can make. It is the most human part of planning. Then the commercial machinery starts. The plan identifies assets. The firm brings … Continue reading The life plan is yours. Who owns the assets?
Human Capital Is Not a Salary: Lessons for Total Wealth Planners
Abstract Conventional financial planning commonly treats labour income as an input into a financial model while concentrating the substantive analysis on accumulated financial capital. Human capital theory suggests that this reverses the economic relationship for many households. Knowledge, skills, experience, health, adaptability and productive capacity constitute forms of capital that may generate income, enhance resilience … Continue reading Human Capital Is Not a Salary: Lessons for Total Wealth Planners
The missing measure is consumer agency
The FCA wants people to navigate their financial lives. What would it take to put the person, rather than the adviser, at the wheel? Someone sits down with a folder of pension statements, an insurance renewal and a list of questions about work. They have been told to seek financial advice. Yet their first question … Continue reading The missing measure is consumer agency
30 Academy OS Fun Facts
30 Academy OS Fun Facts You already have a life operating system.If it is scattered across emails, apps, folders and other people’s systems, you may simply not control it yet. If your plan only works when your adviser is present, your adviser has become the operating system.Academy OS puts the individual back at the centre. … Continue reading 30 Academy OS Fun Facts
