Redefining financial planning — building businesses that empower people, not sell products.
Why We Exist
In 2009, I was Head of Investments at HSBC. The Global Financial Crisis had shaken the world, and one truth stood out: people needed advisers they could trust.
Research confirmed it. Edelman found financial services to be the least trusted industry of all. And when I asked customers directly, their message was clear: trust matters more than anything else.
The problem? What mattered most to customers mattered least to the banks.
So, in 2012, I stepped away from corporate life to create something different. On 2 April 2012, the Academy of Life Planning was born — a place where planners could build businesses rooted in trust, not sales.
At the Academy, trusted planning means treating clients as people, not products — with a clear line between planning and selling.
Today, the Academy equips professional life planners with the skills, tools, and community to thrive in the age of empowerment. For personal clients seeking direct support, we signpost to:
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Planning My Life (PML): a done-by-you GAME Plan for self-guided empowerment
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Financial Life Coach (FLC): a done-with-you GAME Plan with my personal coaching
Our wider work also powers the M-POWER Movement, a global initiative to replace financial extraction with empowerment.
The Results So Far
In the years that followed, I developed and refined a trusted planning framework — the GAME Plan — and first tested it with my own clients. In 2019, I published the approach in my book Your Money or Your Life: Unmask the Highway Robbers – Enjoy Wealth in Every Area of Your Life.
Through this work, one truth became clear: the path to trust lies in empowering people to become their own planner — and in standing beside them as a professional ally during times of transition or stress. When the storm passes, the goal is to return them to full self-sovereignty.
I also came to see that our professional role is twofold:
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To guide and empower people in designing their own lives
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To protect and support them against the exploitative, product-driven financial system — including after harm has occurred
During the pandemic, I began training other planners online. What started as an experiment has now grown into a global community of over 750 professionals and empowered individuals. Some weeks, my posts reach an annualised rate of more than 8 million impressions on LinkedIn.
Awareness of the empowerment model of financial planning is growing fast — and today my focus has shifted from raising awareness to recruiting and equipping more professional planners to join the movement.
What We're Creating
I envision the Academy evolving into a global member co-operative — a vibrant professional community working together for a sustainable future. It will be the go-to model for life planning in the age of empowerment.
Our goal is to become an internationally recognised professional body, offering respected qualifications and maintaining a global register of empowered life planners.
How We’ll Get There:
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Establish a member co-operative structure
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Register as a recognised professional training body
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Gain formal accreditation for the GAME Plan training programme
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Build a searchable global register of professional life planners
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Continue to champion the movement — engaging in public forums, shaping policy debates, and expanding the empowerment model worldwide
The Difference We’re Making
The GAME Plan is our signature framework — designed to help people plan life before money and align their finances with their true goals.
At the Academy, we train professional planners to use the GAME Plan as a practical, trusted process for guiding clients. It’s already transforming practices worldwide by giving planners a clear structure that:
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Starts with purpose and goals
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Turns them into actionable steps
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Matches resources to priorities
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Supports execution and review over time
The result? A planning model that empowers clients, builds structural trust, and sets you apart as a professional in the age of empowerment.
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Founder - Steve Conley
About Steve Conley Steve Conley is the founder of the Academy of Life Planning, established in 2012 to support professional planners in building ethical, purpose-driven practices. With a career spanning over 40 years, Steve has worked with thousands of financial planners across the industry. He previously held senior roles at major banks including HSBC, RBS Group, and Santander, before leaving corporate life to create a new model of planning centred on people, not products. A Registered Life Planner, Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Insurer (Pensions Route), and Mathematics graduate, Steve has been recognised with numerous awards, including the British Insurance & Investment Brokers’ Association Prize, the Jubilee Prize of the Insurance Institute of Manchester, and the Transparency Trophy (2017) for advancing transparency in global financial services. Steve is a Global Ambassador for the Transparency Task Force and the founding lead of its Market Integrity Team. His work is widely respected for combining technical expertise in investments and pensions with a commitment to values, professionalism, and reform. Through the Academy, Steve’s mission is clear: to equip professional life planners with the tools, training, and community to thrive in the age of empowerment.
Transparency Campaigner
As an Ambassador for the Transparency Task Force (TTF), I am committed to ensuring that financial services serve society with fairness, integrity, and accountability.
Since the organisation’s inception, I have volunteered my time and expertise — as a Transparency Trophy winner, member of the TTF Advisory Group, and founding lead of its Market Integrity Team. This work complements my lifelong mission to make financial planning transparent, ethical, and accessible.
The TTF is a global network of professionals united by a shared belief: the ultimate purpose of finance is to benefit society. Together, we raise awareness, challenge the status quo, and work for lasting reform in the sector.
Become Part of the Academy of Life Planning
Join the Academy of Life Planning (AoLP) — a global community of professional planners transforming how life planning is delivered in the age of empowerment.
As a member, you’ll gain access to:
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Exclusive resources and tools to grow your practice
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Expert-led training in the GAME Plan framework
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Peer support and collaboration with mission-aligned planners worldwide
Together, we are building a profession that puts empowerment before exploitation — helping people plan life before money.
👉 For personal clients:
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Self-directed planners can access Planning My Life (DBU)
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Those wanting guided support can work with me through Financial Life Coach (DWU)
If you’re a professional ready to elevate your skills and build an ethical, sustainable practice, the Academy is your gateway to lasting impact.
Our Awards:
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Awards & Recognitions We are honoured to have been recognised across multiple years by various industry awards, including: Finance UK Lawyer International – Legal 100 Awards (2022, 2023, 2024) UK Corporate America Today Awards (2022–2025) Global 100 – Top 100 Firms & Individuals (2022–2025), voted by EMG Publishing readers in 163+ countries M&A Today Global Awards (2024, 2025) SME News Finance Awards – SME500 UK (2024, 2025) Additional Honours: Most Pioneering Financial Planner Network – Acquisition International Worldwide Finance Awards (2022–2024) Financial Adviser Support Network of the Year – Corporate Live Wire Innovation & Excellence Awards (2022–2024) Best Financial Adviser Support Network – SME News Finance Awards (2020–2022) Outstanding Contribution to Finance – SME News Finance Awards (2020–2022) A Note on Transparency: Some awards, particularly from organisations such as AI Global Media and EMG Publishing, may be considered ‘vanity awards’. These can involve: Unclear selection criteria or judging processes Marketing-driven motives rather than purely merit-based recognition Commercial upselling of promotional packages to recipients At the Academy of Life Planning, we are committed to transparency. While we are grateful for recognition, our true measure of success is delivering exceptional service and building a sustainable legacy for our clients and community.