If it’s about running a financial planning or advice firm, it’s been asked here. Or it’s about to be.
LifeTalk is the UK’s longest-established online community for financial advisers, IFAs and financial planners. Nearly 12,000 members across Facebook and LinkedIn, sharing what works, every day, since 2004.
Free to join for financial advisers, planners and paraplanners.
75–80%
of Facebook group members are active in LifeTalk every single month.
Most online communities are a handful of voices and a silent crowd. LifeTalk is a room where most people actually turn up, ask, answer and help.
- 2004LifeTalk launches as the world’s first online community in financial services
- 7,223members in the LinkedIn group
- ~5,000members in the Facebook group, and growing
What members say
“Very useful! I’ve always wanted to feel part of an IFA community, this group definitely has a great vibe and content is very relevant.”
“Lively, helpful, positive content and it’s a nice community to be a part of!”
“A great source of collective wisdom.”
Why it matters
One member changed the whole direction of his business after what he read in LifeTalk. Being able to ask peers, he said, was invaluable in sense-checking a major strategic decision.
Most advisers make the biggest calls of their career alone. LifeTalk means they don’t have to.
What gets talked about
Technical questions lead the way, but IFAs and financial planners bring the whole business of advice here, from pensions and platforms to marketing, lead generation and succession.
Technical and planning
Pensions and IHT from 2027. How are you explaining it to clients?
Providers and platforms
Which platform is actually good for drawdown admin right now?
Marketing
Is anyone getting real enquiries from LinkedIn?
Lead generation
How do you get introductions from accountants without paying for them?
Business growth
When did you know it was time to hire your first paraplanner?
Running the practice
Fixed fee or percentage for ongoing advice? What are you charging?
AI and technology
Anyone using AI for file notes yet? What did compliance say?
Personal growth
How do you switch off when you run your own firm?
LifeTalk on Facebook
Where the daily conversation happens
The heart of LifeTalk. Post a question and you’ll hear from advisers who’ve already faced it, often within minutes – sometimes seconds! Private, members-only and moderated.
Join the Facebook groupLifeTalk on LinkedIn
Your wider professional network
Connect with more than 7,200 advice professionals, follow the discussions shaping the profession and raise your own profile where your peers already are.
Join the LinkedIn groupSmaller groups for deeper work
When you want to go further on one subject, these focused groups bring together advisers working on the same thing.
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Adviser Growth Community
For advisers building what’s next: new business models, practical AI adoption and income beyond traditional advice fees.
Visit the community -
Seminar Marketing Mastery
How to promote, plan and present seminars that turn a room of guests into clients. Share what’s working with advisers who run them.
Visit the group -
New Income Streams Group
Turn your expertise into webinars, books, courses and memberships, and serve people who fall outside your client minimums.
Visit the group
What members are learning right now
Alongside the daily conversation, LifeTalk members get access to training on the things advisers keep asking about. These are the sessions in demand at the moment.
- 01 How to plan, promote and present successful seminars and client events Seminars & events
- 02 How to attract more and higher quality referrals from existing clients Referrals
- 03 How to create your own AI clone or digital twin AI
- 04 Advanced presentation skills Communication
- 05 How to create new income streams as a financial adviser Business models
- 06 How to build community around your brand Marketing
- 07 How to build a proposition around the advice gap Business models
- 08 How to write your own book and become a published author Authority
- 09 Marketing and lead generation for young or new advisers Getting started
- 10 How to use scorecard marketing to attract more of your ideal clients Lead generation
Want to run one of these with your team, or bring it to your next event?
Email Phil about training
The Phil² Sessions
LifeTalk’s newest spin-off: the marketing and lead generation podcast for financial advisers. A live marketing clinic where real adviser challenges get practical, usable answers.
A collaborative production between LifeTalk founder Phil Calvert and The Yardstick Agency’s Phil Bray.
Listen on SpotifyAlso from LifeTalk
First in 2004. Busier than ever today.
When LifeTalk launched in 2004, it was the world’s first online community in financial services. The idea was simple: financial advisers work best when they can ask each other anything. Over twenty years later, that’s still exactly what happens, every day.
It’s run by Philip Calvert, the UK’s most experienced marketing and lead generation consultant to financial advisers, and one of the most experienced anywhere in the world. An author and conference speaker, he has presented to over a million financial advisers across the globe, and keeps the community focused and useful, so members get honest answers from people doing the same job.
Philip Calvert, founder of LifeTalk
Keynotes, workshops, masterclasses, panels and industry comment
Phil Calvert is available for keynotes, workshops and masterclasses at financial adviser conferences, provider events and industry gatherings in the UK and around the world. His talks cover marketing, client acquisition, lead generation, thought leadership and how AI is changing the way advisers win clients.
Journalists and editors can also contact Phil for commentary on adviser marketing, professional communities and the future of financial advice.
Common questions
What is LifeTalk?
LifeTalk is a free online community for UK financial advisers, IFAs and financial planners. Members use it to network, share best practice, ask technical questions, compare providers and swap marketing and lead generation ideas. It launched in 2004 as the world’s first online community in financial services.
Who can join LifeTalk?
Financial advisers, IFAs, financial planners, paraplanners, wealth managers and other financial advice professionals, at any stage of their career. Providers and suppliers are welcome too: you can advertise to the community or add your firm to the LifeTalk Provider Directory. Email philip@philipcalvert.com to find out more.
Is LifeTalk free to join?
Yes. The LifeTalk Facebook group and LinkedIn group are both free. Some of the smaller specialist groups have their own membership options.
Should I join the Facebook group or the LinkedIn group?
Ideally both. The Facebook group is where most of the daily conversation happens, with 75–80% of members active every month. The LinkedIn group is a wider professional network of more than 7,200 advice professionals.
What do financial advisers discuss in LifeTalk?
Everything involved in running a financial planning or advice firm: technical and planning questions, pensions, platforms and providers, Consumer Duty, fees, marketing, lead generation, business growth, AI and technology, and succession.
Where can financial advisers get marketing and lead generation help?
Start by asking in LifeTalk, where advisers share what is working for them right now. For more, listen to The Phil² Sessions podcast, or join a specialist group such as the Adviser Growth Community, Seminar Marketing Mastery or the New Income Streams Group.