Opinion: The AI Debate Is Missing the Most Important Participant

Why the future of financial planning won't be decided by firms adopting AI—but by citizens doing the same. Every week there seems to be another discussion about artificial intelligence in financial services. Should advisers build their own AI? Should firms rely on specialist providers? Will AI replace paraplanners? Are the productivity gains worth the investment? … Continue reading Opinion: The AI Debate Is Missing the Most Important Participant

17 Million Pension Policies. £500 Billion Invested. The FCA Says Many Could Be Poor Value.

The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a clear warning to pension providers. Millions of people holding older unit-linked pension and savings policies may not be receiving fair value. The scale is remarkable. Around 17 million policies. Around £500 billion invested. Many of these products are no longer sold. They sit quietly in the background, often … Continue reading 17 Million Pension Policies. £500 Billion Invested. The FCA Says Many Could Be Poor Value.

If Even the FCA Says Investment Documents Are Too Hard to Understand… Perhaps It’s Time to Level the Playing Field

The Financial Conduct Authority has reached a striking conclusion. After reviewing 172 investment disclosure documents, it found that almost all were written at a level too difficult for the average consumer to understand. Only 6% were considered to be written in plain English, and every single document reviewed fell below the level expected for someone … Continue reading If Even the FCA Says Investment Documents Are Too Hard to Understand… Perhaps It’s Time to Level the Playing Field

Academy OS Is Now Live: AI That Strengthens Human Agency

For the past year, I've been building something that has gradually become much bigger than a collection of AI tools. Today, I'm pleased to announce the launch of the new Academy OS page on the Academy of Life Planning website. This isn't simply a software catalogue. It represents a different philosophy about the relationship between … Continue reading Academy OS Is Now Live: AI That Strengthens Human Agency

AI Is Reshaping Financial Planning. But Is It Reshaping the Whole Picture?

AI and the Two-Sided Transition of Financial Planning The Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) has released an important new Practice Guidance Note on the use of artificial intelligence in financial planning. It is a timely and well-considered document that addresses one of the profession's most significant emerging challenges. Its central message is clear. Artificial intelligence … Continue reading AI Is Reshaping Financial Planning. But Is It Reshaping the Whole Picture?

When Clients Have AI Too

The profession is asking how advisers should use AI. But the more urgent question may be what advisers should do when clients have AI too. For the past two years, almost every conversation about artificial intelligence in financial planning has centred on the adviser. How can firms become more efficient? How can advisers automate administrative … Continue reading When Clients Have AI Too

What Is Your Financial Planning Business Really Optimising For?

The QBL Financial Planning Firm™ I actually think QBL Financial Planning Firm™ has the potential to become a recognised AoLP framework. It provides a memorable organisational counterpart to Total Wealth Planning. A Total Wealth Planner helps clients optimise across multiple forms of capital; a QBL Financial Planning Firm consciously organises its own business around the … Continue reading What Is Your Financial Planning Business Really Optimising For?

The Great Unbundling of Financial Planning

What Happens When AI Can Do Most of the Regulated Work? For thirty years, financial planning and financial advice have largely travelled together. In practice, most consumers have experienced financial planning through the lens of regulated financial advice. The planner gathered information, analysed circumstances, made recommendations, arranged products, implemented transactions, reviewed outcomes, and managed ongoing … Continue reading The Great Unbundling of Financial Planning

What does the rise of AI girlfriends tell us about the state of human agency?

If millions of young people are choosing AI companions that never reject them, never challenge them, and never leave them, is the real story about artificial intelligence — or about what modern life is failing to provide? [Based on The terrifying rise of schoolboys making AI girlfriends, by Nicole Mowbray in The Telegraph Magazine. 6 … Continue reading What does the rise of AI girlfriends tell us about the state of human agency?