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Steve Conley
1 day ago3 min read
"The Adviser Shortage" – Or How to Fill an Academy Course
The financial advice profession is, apparently, in the grips of a dramatic “adviser shortage.” Or so we’re told by Chris Jones , who just...
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Steve Conley
2 days ago3 min read
Government Rushes to Shield Fat Cats from Facing the Consequences of Their Actions
In yet another twist of financial absurdity, the UK government has gallantly stepped in to rescue beleaguered motor finance fat cats from...
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Steve Conley
2 days ago3 min read
Adiós Santander: If the Banks Want Out, Let Them Go
As the Government rolls out the red carpet for deregulation, it seems some banks have decided to up the ante in this high-stakes game of...
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Steve Conley
5 days ago3 min read
Regulators Told to Cut Red Tape and Somehow Save Us All
Imagine this: in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, squeezed households, and businesses teetering on the edge, the government’s...
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Steve Conley
Jan 133 min read
City Bankers: Marking Their Own Homework (Again)
Ah, the City of London—that glittering jewel in the crown of the UK’s economy, or so we’re constantly told by those who profit most from...
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Steve Conley
Jan 133 min read
Wealth Awareness: Security Through Status and Influence
Or: Why Should Voters Come Second to City Bankers? Ah, the United Kingdom, where democracy thrives—or so we’re told—and the fruits of...
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Steve Conley
Jan 64 min read
Morals of a Calculator: A Step Up from Transaction Bias
Morals of FA or AI - What works best? The phrase "the morals of a calculator" might sound like a snide dismissal of artificial...
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Steve Conley
Jan 54 min read
Fat Cat Bankers Plea for Mercy: A Reflection on the City's Decline
City Bankers Lamenting. The fat cats are wailing in the Sunday Times this morning . The self-proclaimed custodians of the UK’s financial...
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Steve Conley
Dec 30, 20242 min read
2025: The Year of "Trust Us, We Know What We're Doing"
Raining products on the mass market. Ah, the sweet sound of financial innovation: product providers eagerly sharpening their tools to...
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Steve Conley
Dec 29, 20243 min read
Five Things That Might Appear on the FCA's Pro-Growth Wishlist
This Christmas, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his festive entourage – Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Jonathan...
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Steve Conley
Dec 29, 20243 min read
Christmas Cheer for Fat Cats: A Government’s Seasonal Gift to the City
This Christmas, while most Brits are tightening their belts and scraping through another month of survival mode, the government decided...
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Steve Conley
Dec 20, 20243 min read
When Those in Power Become a Law Unto Themselves
Ah, the great machinery of fairness in action- where complaints go to die, stamped out with all the charm of a bureaucratic overlord...
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Steve Conley
Dec 19, 20243 min read
The Catastrophe of Ignoring Low-Cost Options: Do We Really Need 'Experts' to State the Obvious?
"Behold the 'Asset Hoover' in its natural habitat: tirelessly vacuuming up fees while the confused consumer clutches the obvious...
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Steve Conley
Dec 18, 20243 min read
Labour’s Crown Jewel? Or Fool’s Gold?
Labour’s new mascot: The City fat cat, feasting atop a crumbling tower of taxpayer-funded dreams, while the workers below brace for the...
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Steve Conley
Dec 17, 20243 min read
The Government’s Pick-and-Mix Approach to Accountability: Ombudsman Rejection Sets Dangerous Precedent
"The independent watchdog sits sidelined and ignored, while the Government plays judge, jury, and untouchable arbiter of accountability."...
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Steve Conley
Dec 17, 20243 min read
Raising Living Standards: Time for the FCA to Get with the Programme
When the foundations crack, maybe it's time to stop piling on the profits and start investing in the people holding it up. In a plot...
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Steve Conley
Dec 13, 20243 min read
Post-Growth Objective: Can We Believe Anything the FCA Tells Us?
Last Tuesday, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) made one thing abundantly clear to the Treasury Committee: public announcements...
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Steve Conley
Dec 10, 20243 min read
The Illusion of Benevolence: Unmasking the SJP Sales Pitch Disguised as Financial Advice
Mark FitzPatrick, CEO of St. James’s Place (SJP), recently took to LinkedIn with a rallying cry for the financial advice industry . His...
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Steve Conley
Dec 9, 20242 min read
FCA’s Perimeter Report: A Refreshing Dose of Reality
Well, it seems the FCA has decided to put down the deflective shield and admit what many of us already knew: they can’t stop all the harm...
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Steve Conley
Dec 9, 20243 min read
The FCA’s Double Standards on Fee Models: A Case of ‘Do as I Say, Not as I Do’?
Ah, the FCA. The Financial Conduct Authority is supposed to be the shining beacon of fairness in financial services, right? Its Consumer...
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