Legal & Consumer Protection
Total Wealth Planner™ is a trading style of The Academy of Life Planning Limited, registered in England and Wales, Company No. 08016568.
We provide personalised financial planning, education and decision support designed to improve understanding, strengthen decision-making capability and help people plan their life and money as a whole.
We believe professional accountability should be clear whether or not a particular activity falls within the FCA regulatory perimeter.
This page brings together the principal legal, regulatory and consumer-protection information applying to Total Wealth Planner services.
Regulatory Information
Total Wealth Planner provides personalised financial planning and decision support.
We do not provide FCA-regulated investment advice, arrange regulated investments, manage investments, hold client investment money, or recommend that you buy, sell, hold or transfer a particular regulated investment.
Financial planning and FCA-regulated investment intermediation are not the same thing.
FCA Perimeter Guidance recognises financial planning as an example of generic advice that is not caught by the regulated activity of advising on investments, provided the activity does not amount to a personal recommendation concerning a particular investment.
Where FCA-regulated investment advice, pension transfer advice or regulated implementation is required, you should use an appropriately authorised firm.
Where legal, tax, accounting, actuarial or another specialist discipline is required, an appropriately qualified professional should be involved.
Professional standing
Stephen James Conley is a current member of the Chartered Insurance Institute and Personal Finance Society and is subject to their professional Code of Ethics.
He was awarded the title of:
Chartered Insurer — 1 December 1989
and
Chartered Financial Planner — 15 December 2017
These professional designations are separate from FCA authorisation.
The CII and PFS operate as professional bodies concerned with qualifications, professional standards, ethics and continuing professional standing. FCA authorisation relates instead to permission to undertake specified regulated activities.
Stephen’s current professional status can be verified through his PFS/CII digital register entry.
Professional qualification does not expand the regulatory permissions of the service being provided. Equally, the absence of product intermediation does not remove professional accountability.
Our approach
Our role is to help you:
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understand your financial position;
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organise the different parts of your financial life;
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explore options and trade-offs;
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identify uncertainty and risk;
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improve the quality of your decisions; and
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recognise when specialist expertise is required.
Our operating principle is:
Understand first. Decide second. Transact last.
Our wider professional framework includes:
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Total Wealth Planner Professional Standards — competence, ethics, professional conduct and accountability.
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Conflicts, Referrals & Specialist Escalation Policy — how conflicts are managed and when other specialists should be brought in.
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Safeguarding & Vulnerability Policy — how we respond where clients may be vulnerable, under pressure or at risk of harm.
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AI Acceptable-Use Policy — how AI is used responsibly, transparently and with appropriate human oversight.
Terms & Conditions
Our Terms & Conditions explain the contractual basis on which you use this website and purchase Total Wealth Planner services.
They cover matters including:
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use of the website;
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purchases and bookings;
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memberships and subscriptions;
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digital content;
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intellectual property;
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cancellation rights;
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refunds;
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limitations and responsibilities;
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AI-assisted services; and
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applicable consumer rights.
Where you purchase an individual professional service, you may also receive a separate Client Service Agreement & Terms of Engagement setting out the exact scope, fee and deliverables for that engagement.
Complaints Procedure
We want complaints to be easy to make and useful to resolve.
If you are dissatisfied with a Total Wealth Planner service, communication, charge, professional interaction or other matter for which you reasonably expect a response or remedy, you can raise a complaint without charge.
We will normally acknowledge a formal complaint within 3 working days and aim to provide a reasoned outcome within 20 working days.
Depending on the circumstances, remedies may include clarification, correction, an apology, repeat performance, a refund or another appropriate remedy.
Services provided outside the FCA regulatory perimeter are not automatically within the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme merely because they relate to financial planning.
That does not remove your contractual, consumer-law or other legal rights.
Privacy Notice
We take the protection of personal information seriously.
Our Privacy Notice explains:
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what personal data we collect;
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why we use it;
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our lawful bases for processing;
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how long information is retained;
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how we protect confidential and sensitive information;
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how we use AI-assisted systems;
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when information may be shared;
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international data transfers;
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your UK data-protection rights; and
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how to raise a privacy concern.
The Academy of Life Planning Limited is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration number ZA502687.
Cookie Policy
Our website uses cookies and similar storage and access technologies to operate securely, remember preferences, support member and payment functions, measure website performance and, where permitted, support marketing or referral functionality.
Where consent is legally required, non-essential technologies should not be activated until you choose to allow them.
You can manage your choices using the website’s Cookie Settings.
Our Cookie Policy explains:
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strictly necessary cookies;
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functional technologies;
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analytics and measurement;
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affiliate and referral tracking;
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marketing technologies;
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embedded third-party services;
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Wix platform technologies;
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consent and withdrawal; and
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browser and device controls.
Consumer Protection
Total Wealth Planner services are subject to applicable UK consumer law.
The Academy of Life Planning maintains a wider professional and consumer-protection framework covering:
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professional standards;
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conflicts of interest;
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referrals and specialist escalation;
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safeguarding and vulnerability;
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responsible use of artificial intelligence;
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complaints and redress;
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privacy and data protection; and
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professional accountability.
Our objective is not simply to operate within legal boundaries.
It is to provide a financial planning service in which those boundaries, responsibilities and protections are visible to the client.
Contact
The Academy of Life Planning Limited
Trading as Total Wealth Planner™
Company No. 08016568
ICO Registration No. ZA502687
9 Franklin Way
Spilsby
Lincolnshire
PE23 5GG
United Kingdom
Email: steve@academyoflifeplanning.com
Telephone: +44 (0)7850 102070
I am Stephen James Conley, a registered financial services professional and current member of the Personal Finance Society and Chartered Insurance Institute, subject to their professional Code of Ethics.
I was awarded the title of Chartered Insurer by the Chartered Insurance Institute on 1 December 1989, and the title of Chartered Financial Planner on 15 December 2017.
These are professional designations awarded through the CII’s Royal Charter framework. My current professional standing can be verified instantly through my PFS/CII digital register entry using the QR code alongside this section.
This is separate from FCA authorisation.
The CII and PFS are professional bodies concerned with professional qualifications, Chartered status, ethics and continuing professional standing. The FCA is a statutory regulator concerned with permission to carry on specified regulated activities.
I therefore remain professionally qualified, professionally registered and subject to a professional code of ethics, while deliberately operating a financial planning model that does not involve FCA-regulated investment intermediation.
On the regulatory position, financial planning itself is not an FCA-regulated activity. FCA Perimeter Guidance recognises financial planning as an example of generic advice that is not caught by the regulated activity of advising on investments, provided the activity does not amount to a personal recommendation concerning a particular regulated investment.
Put simply: I help you understand what you want your money to do and make better financial decisions. I do not tell you which particular regulated investment to buy.
