It's my money, it's my responsibility, and it's my agenda.

Posted by Stuart Mills, on LinkedIn on 19th September 2025

Stepping into the beautiful St George’s in Bristol for GoodStock.Live, you could feel a unique energy. The room was filled with financial advisors and planners, all gathered to redesign the conversation around finance. As one of the "clients" in the room, it was a powerful experience to witness the industry talking candidly about how it needs to change. It felt like the journey Stephanie Mills and I have been on, turning our notes and questions into Wealth With A Why, was unfolding.

The day began with a call for stories and truth from Sebastian Elwell FPFS TEP of Switchfoot WealthLimited, setting the stage for a day focused on the human side of money. We heard that as clients, we often feel a lack of control, yet have a deep desire to contribute to solutions and have agency over our actions. This set the stage for a day that moved far beyond spreadsheets.

The conversations repeatedly circled back to a central question: How can the advisor-client relationship become a space for genuine connection? It starts by moving beyond checklists and getting curious. This was powerfully articulated by Tobi Schneider from the Compassionate Finance Hub, whose keynote on Compassionate Finance identified that while many of us want to do better, we often lack the tools. 

The theme was carried on by the brilliant panel that Stephanie joined - hosted by Cleona Lira of Conscious Money, and with Nathan F., and Adam Kelly - who explored how leading with curiosity builds the kind of relationship where difficult conversations can happen.

For us, this journey became real when we developed a simple tool to bridge the gap: a traffic light system. To tackle the overwhelming jargon, our holdings were categorised as Red (not aligned with our values), Amber (of concern but could improve), or Green (well-aligned). Suddenly, our priority for our advisor was clear: sell Red; monitor Amber; and invest in Green. This simple framing gave us a way to monitor our portfolio through the lens of our values.

This first step led to a bigger realisation. We started by asking, ‘Can we do better with our money?’, but soon saw that was the wrong question. The real question became, ‘Can we do better with all our capital?’. This opened up our perspective to our "5 Ts": our Time, Ties, Testimony, Talent, and Treasure.Recognising all our resources gave us renewed confidence and control over our financial planning.

This sense of responsibility was amplified by a stark call to action from Charlotte Howell of Parents ForFuture UK, whose words, "The Cost of Inaction is a cost none of us can afford," brought a profound urgency to the room. 

As the day closed, a session on "Framing Impact" with Alan Whittle PhD MSc FPFS brilliantly reinforced how vital language is in creating sustainable outcomes.

The event wrapped up with a role-play, one final thought crystallised the entire experience. For advisors to truly serve their clients, they need to remember the simple, powerful truth that was woven through every session: from a client’s perspective, “It’s my money, it's my responsibility, and it's my agenda.”

That single sentence is the key to unlocking a future of purposeful, impactful investing for us all. If you're a client like me and would like to dive into this vital conversation, I hope you’ll join me at the nextevent, Good Money Investing, on October 6th, part of UKSIFs Good Money Week Conference.