By Steve Conley What if the problem was never access… but activation? For decades, financial services has framed its central challenge as an “advice gap.” Not enough advisers.Not enough access.Not enough affordability. But the NHS—facing far greater scale, complexity, and pressure—took a different view. They asked a more fundamental question: What if most people don’t … Continue reading From Patients to Planners: Why the Financial World Needs Its Own Activation Measure
Tag: total-wealth-planning
From Product to Purpose: Reframing the SSAS Conversation Through the GAME Plan
The problem isn’t the tool. It’s where we start. There’s a familiar pattern in financial services. A product is introduced.Its benefits are explained.Case studies are shared.And somewhere along the way, it begins to feel like the answer. A recent SSAS property booklet is a good example. 7_REASONS_SSAS_BOOKLET__December_2025_.pdfDownload It speaks the language of control.It highlights flexibility.It … Continue reading From Product to Purpose: Reframing the SSAS Conversation Through the GAME Plan
Active Management Partnership (AMP): The Idea That Almost Fixed the System—But Didn’t Go Far Enough
By Steve Conley In 2009, a quietly radical idea was proposed in the pages of a private investor magazine. It did not call for revolution.It did not reject the financial system.It simply asked a very reasonable question: What if fund managers were only paid when they genuinely outperformed? The proposal—known as the Active Management Partnership … Continue reading Active Management Partnership (AMP): The Idea That Almost Fixed the System—But Didn’t Go Far Enough
Regulation After the Fall: What the Hartley Case Reveals About a System That Reacts Too Late
By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning A familiar pattern—only now, it’s formal The Financial Conduct Authority has taken a step toward enforcement action against Hartley Pensions. The allegations are serious. Misleading the regulator Using client pension funds without consent Acting for personal benefit Attempting to conceal wrongdoing For thousands of clients affected, this … Continue reading Regulation After the Fall: What the Hartley Case Reveals About a System That Reacts Too Late
Hidden Credit. Hidden Power. Hidden Harm.
Why Parliament’s Latest Debate Exposes a Deeper Structural Failure “Protection that comes a decade too late is not protection. It is a post-mortem.” That line, delivered in Westminster Hall this week, captures the essence of a scandal that refuses to die—and perhaps more importantly, refuses to be fully acknowledged. On 14 April 2026, MPs gathered … Continue reading Hidden Credit. Hidden Power. Hidden Harm.
A 14-year silence… now under review
“£674m a year in hidden fees over 14 years. Now ask yourself: what did you receive — and are you due a refund?” The Financial Conduct Authority has reopened a question many assumed had already been settled: Should trail commission still exist? Not for new business—that was addressed in 2012 under the Retail Distribution Review … Continue reading A 14-year silence… now under review
Beyond Regulation: Bringing Consumer Agency Upstream of Harm
The growing momentum behind calls for reform of the UK’s financial regulatory system reflects a shared and increasingly urgent concern: the framework designed to protect consumers is not consistently delivering on its promise. Recent discussions across parliamentary groups, industry forums, and advocacy bodies have rightly focused on questions of accountability, oversight, and enforcement. These are … Continue reading Beyond Regulation: Bringing Consumer Agency Upstream of Harm
Targeted Support and the Quiet Rewiring of Financial Advice
By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning There are moments in financial services where a regulatory shift appears incremental on the surface, yet signals something far more profound beneath. The FCA’s introduction of Targeted Support is one of those moments. With firms such as Quilter and Royal London already moving at pace, the industry … Continue reading Targeted Support and the Quiet Rewiring of Financial Advice
Optimism as Decision Capital: Why the Way We See the Future May Shape How Long We Can Live in It
There is a quiet shift taking place in the science of ageing. Not in pharmaceuticals.Not in genetics.But in something far less tangible — and far more accessible. A recent longitudinal study spanning the United States and Finland, tracking nearly 9,000 older adults over more than a decade, has added weight to an emerging idea: Those … Continue reading Optimism as Decision Capital: Why the Way We See the Future May Shape How Long We Can Live in It
Evidence vs Narrative Investing: What Vanguard’s latest move reveals about the future of financial advice
For decades, one firm stood apart. Not because it promised more. But because it promised less. Less cost.Less intervention.Less story. Vanguard was built on a simple, almost uncomfortable truth: The more you do, the more you tend to take.And the more you take, the less the investor keeps. At the heart of that philosophy was … Continue reading Evidence vs Narrative Investing: What Vanguard’s latest move reveals about the future of financial advice
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