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Peter Dougherty<\/p>\nBy Peter Dougherty<\/p>\n
WHEN 100 expatriates in Spain are asked whether they would like to know more about local taxes, 80 raise their hand.<\/p>\n
When these same 80 expatriates are asked whether they are willing to spend time learning about these taxes, 70 quickly lower their hand.<\/p>\n
When the few that remain are asked if they are willing to enroll in a one-year master\u2019s program on local taxation taught in Spanish, I am the only volunteer.<\/p>\n
My motivation is clear: there is no better feeling as a financial planner than when a client says: \u201cThanks to you, I can sleep peacefully at night.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And there is no more direct route to removing their worries than to learn as much as I can about the various aspects of finance in Spain.<\/p>\n
Taxes aren\u2019t even our primary focus at Bissan Wealth Management \u2013 cross-border financial planning is.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But taxes are a notable concern for many expats in Spain. That\u2019s why I spent numerous late nights studying Spanish taxes: to ensure that my clients won\u2019t spend late nights worrying about their own taxes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I began my specialised graduate training in advanced taxation in 2023, earning a Master\u2019s Degree in tax and fiscal advisory (M\u00e1ster en Fiscalidad y Tributaci\u00f3n) from Universidad Nebrija in 2024.<\/p>\n
Economist John Maynard Keynes once said: \u201cThe avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I believe that\u2019s only partly true, that holistic financial planning is a more worthy pursuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You see, good financial planning involves tax strategy, but it also includes investment planning, risk management (insurance), cash flow & budgeting, and retirement planning. Which means there\u2019s a lot of expertise that must be acquired to be an effective financial planner.<\/p>\n
This is why at Bissan Wealth Management\u2019s 10-person firm, one of our team-members holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) credential, another is a CFP\u00ae holder and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor\u00ae, and a third earned a PhD in Economics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Peter Dougherty<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s why six of our ten team-members hold one of Spain\u2019s two highest financial advising credentials: the European Financial Advisor (EFA) or the European Financial Planner (EFP); two earned a law degree; two are certified mortgage credit advisors; four have an MBA; two have a master\u2019s degree in taxation and five hold another master\u2019s degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a lot of financial knowledge packed into a small financial firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why have we obtained so many different credentials and degrees? It\u2019s because the components of financial planning are not separate boxes. A decision in one area typically affects others.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is particularly true for expatriate families in Spain. For example: exchange rates can affect investment decisions, which then affect taxes, which in turn influence how assets should be divided between two countries.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Most expats in Spain receive financial advice from multiple sources but seldom have a single integrated plan. Without coordination, decisions that seem smart individually may work against each other.<\/p>\n
In the end, good financial planning is about connecting all the dots.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the different pieces of a family\u2019s financial life are viewed together rather than in isolation, decisions become more cohesive, risks become easier to understand and manage, and long-term goals become more attainable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I\u2019ll continue to raise my hand for new learning opportunities. And that\u2019s why I\u2019ll end the article here \u2013 for now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve just enrolled in a Spanish mortgage credit advisor training program, which means it\u2019s time to once again close my laptop and open my notebook.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Peter Dougherty is a Financial Planner at BISSAN Wealth Management in Spain. He holds an MBA in finance from Columbia University in New York and an MS in Spanish Taxation (M\u00e1ster en Fiscalidad y Tributaci\u00f3n) from Nebrija University in Spain. He is a European Financial Planner (EFP) in Spain and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER\u2122 professional and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor\u00ae in the United States.<\/p>\n