Financial planner for Americans in Spain opens a new chapter

Financial advisors worldwide are concerned about the growing ‘gap’ they observe in their industry between financial planning and asset management. Many say that it’s a struggle for them to align the financial plan of a client with their investment portfolio.

One financial advisor described it as: “two halves of a bridge built from opposite banks that don’t meet in the middle: each side may be well engineered, but without coordination, the client can’t get across.”

Few people in the finance sector deny that this gap exists. They offer several differing reasons to explain it, however. Some blame chaotic markets, others say it’s due to a tug-of-war between clients wanting personalisation and financial firms wanting to grow rapidly.

Peter Dougherty believes this gap has a different cause: the limitations of modern portfolio theory. He thinks the problem begins with the one-dimensional assumption that ‘volatility’ equals ‘risk’ in an investment portfolio. As Dougherty explains: “if over three years two stocks have each earned 7%, portfolio theory tells us that the stock whose annual returns have been 9%, -1%, and 14% is ‘riskier’ than the stock that returned 8%, 6% and 7% over the three-year period. They each earned 7%. Yet, because the standard deviation of the first stock’s returns (6.24) is higher than second’s (.816), which means its returns vary more, buying the first stock is viewed as subjecting the investor to more ‘risk’ than buying the second stock.”

But Dougherty doesn’t believe this ‘volatility’ (variance in price) equals risk. Instead, he says that “not having what you need when you need it is the risk. Volatility is an important characteristic, but it is not risk. To most clients, ‘risk’ is the chance of not reaching their goals, like running out of money in retirement. That chasm between the textbook definition and the client’s definition is the reason financial planning and investing need to be designed together.”

So, four years ago, when Peter Dougherty arrived in Spain as a financial planner, he deliberately went to work for the only Spanish firm that brought financial planning and investments into alignment: Bissan Wealth Management. His aim was to help Americans in Spain with their financial plans and investments. To enhance his abilities, Dougherty earned a master’s degree in Spanish taxation from Universidad Nebrija and became Spain’s only U.S./Spanish dual-accredited financial planner: receiving the European Financial Planner certification in Spain and the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® credential in the U.S.

Now, four years later, he recognises that it’s often wiser for Americans to leave their investments in the U.S. rather than transfer financial assets to Spain. He recently arrived at this ‘aha moment’ — ‘when the penny dropped’ — as he was adjusting a wobbly table at a neighbourhood café. Dougherty placed a napkin under one leg and a different leg started rocking because the floor itself was uneven. That’s the moment it dawned on him that the real problem for Americans in Spain, like a rug that doesn’t fit the room, is that U.S. investment rules are incompatible with the Spanish financial ecosystem.

That’s the reason Dougherty left his job at Bissan and founded USpain Financial Consultancy, where he provides independent financial advice and planning to English-speaking expats in Spain. He still believes that financial planning and investing need to be designed together rather than handled by separate people or processes. But he also realises that Americans in Spain seldom need assistance with Spanish wealth management. That explains why USpain Financial blends cross-border financial planning for expats in Spain that works well even if their investment portfolio is predominantly in the U.S.

To draw a parallel between what his new firm is doing and technology, Dougherty jokes: “How do you know a computer is European? It has a five-week vacation policy, but it has an operating system, installed software, and a processor that are from California.”

Peter Dougherty, CFP®, CRPC®, EFP (Spain), is a financial planner at USpain Financial Consultancy, where he specialises in advising Americans living in the country. He is the author of two financial planning books, one in English: “The Dougherty Code: Secrets of Financial Planning in Spain Revealed” and the other in Spanish: “La Hoja de Ruta Fiscal y Financiera para los españoles en EE.UU.”

For more information: https://www.financial-planning-in-spain.com

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax or investment advice. Tax and investment rules differ for US citizens resident in Spain and depend on individual circumstances. Always seek independent regulated advice before making financial decisions, and check that any adviser is authorised to advise you in your jurisdiction