Is your Financial advisor regulated AND fully qualified?

It has come to our attention in recent months that there are a number of Financial Advice companies advertising on the mainland, and in the Canaries, claiming to be fully qualified and regulated. Unfortunately, some of these companies have very limited permissions, or none at all in some cases.

In the first instance, you need to ensure that the company you are dealing with is regulated. This is extremely important and provides you with a level of protection. Equally important, however, is that the individual sitting in front of you, and providing the advice, is fully qualified.

To check to see if a company is regulated is fairly straightforward. On any advert or marketing material, an advice firm will always state their registration number as well information on where and who they are regulated by. Typically, the regulation will come from either the FSC in Gibraltar, the FCA in UK and either the DGS or the CNMV in Spain. Any advert without this information is likely to be from and unregulated entity.

You are also able to see if an adviser is qualified to UK standard, which many claim to be. To do this, you can go to the official CII (Chartered Insurance Institute) website, and click on member search. When searching for an individual, they should have the designation DipPFS next to their name, which means they have reached Diploma status. If they do not have this next to their name, they are not qualified to UK standard.

We are proud to work with two fully qualified advisers who both have both completed the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning. We pride ourselves on delivering easily understood, tax efficient solutions for expats living in Spain. You are safe in the knowledge that the advice you are receiving is from fully qualified individuals and a fully regulated business.

We work with our advsisors who are a trading style of Tourbillon Limited, regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (Registered Number FSC1118B). Under our network, we are also registered with the FCA in UK and both the DGS and CNMV in Spain.

 Don’t be caught out, ensure your advisor is qualified and fully regulated. You will be very suprised how many aren’t. After all you wouldn’t send your children to school to be taught by an unqualified teacher, neither would you board a plane with a pilot without the right training. Don’t put your financial affairs at risk.
Contact us for trusted, safe, secure and fully regulated advice

Is it wise to keep your pension in the UK?

Pension planning has always been an important part of financial planning and never more so than
now. The pension industry’s legislation is forever changing and everyone should review their
options.

On top of this, we find ourselves in a transitional period where the UK are in negotiations with the
EU, hoping to obtain the best BREXIT deal possible. This, as one would expect, raises lots of
uncertainty and concerns about how UK pensions will be affected by BREXIT and equally, what
impact this has on individuals who live overseas.

We have seen an increasing number of clients living abroad opt to transfer their pension to
an overseas, tax beneficial, jurisdiction. This has given them peace of mind that their pension will no
longer be subject to unknown changes caused by BREXIT.

Most people will depend on a pension to provide them with their income in retirement. Their
pension may come from the State, from a company sponsored pension scheme or from a private
pension arrangement.

Governments around the world are increasing retirement ages and reducing the benefits that the
state provides, so we all need to have the means to support ourselves. Furthermore, with our life
expectancy increasing through breakthroughs in medication and education, our pension funds need
to last longer than ever before.

It is not uncommon for people to lose track of their pensions over time, or even forget about them
all together. If you want to maintain a certain level of lifestyle in retirement or have the option of
retiring when you want to, it is vital you have a plan in place.

We are able to carry out pension audits and reviews of existing schemes, whether your
pension be based in the UK or overseas. We will explain what your options are in plain English,
without the jargon, so that you can make informed decisions on how best to achieve your goals.

Contact Expat services today and we’ll put you in touch with a tried, tested and trusted advisor recommended by Jennifer herself

Wills, Taxes and Residencia- Time marches on for Brexit

Time marches on. Thousands of words are spoken and still there is great optimism in the UK that Brexit is going to bring wealth, prosperity and a standing in the world similar to that from the past. Personally I think that is going to require a miracle. Needing to be part of a collection of countries when the world is a very dangerous place to live in, became apparent when Theresa May flew to Brussels to request help and support regarding the dreadful situation with the nerve gas poisoning in Salisbury. Will this be able to continue at the same level? No doubt due to the unsettled situation, sadly the British are not coming to Spain in the numbers they used to. They are being superseded by other nationalities. Let´s hope this reverts very soon when we are made to feel a little bit more secure on deciding to make Spain our home.

You will need, if you are Resident or Non Resident, to be registered to either pay or prove that you are paying taxes outside of Spain. Please do not ignore this legal requirement because there are more taxes than IBI and Basura to be assessed, especially if you are a Resident, and a huge fine could follow if you do not comply. If you are thinking of making a will, can I suggest that you do this as soon as possible, as without a will the problems, time and money that this will cost your loved ones, can be extremely high and stressful. If you are living with a person who dies, and you are not a blood relative, then it could turn into a nightmare, especially if the deceased has a son, who in Spanish law can supersede a common law relative. There is also the cost of dealing with a death, and having no life insurance or funeral plan, or the provision to pay the inheritance tax, finding these amounts of money fairly quickly, could cause a very unpleasant and worrying time for your loved ones. Everything I have mentioned here has been gained by the experience of others and myself. You must take on board that there is no help available from the government of Spain – you are on your own. But you have no need to be. My very professional associates can ease this situation if you contact them and take their advice. I appreciate that my company is an insurance company, however there is no point in just protecting your car and your house, you need to protect your family. Once again we can help you with a Bespoke Life Insurance policy, which can be as little as € 120 per year. Can you afford not to do this, because sadly accidents and illness do happen? You need to make all these decisions if you choose to live in Spain, to keep you and your family secure. You know it makes sense. All you have to do is visit www.expatservicesspain.net and contact my company for more information and to arrange an appointment with our associates.

When considering contacting us for your insurance, please remember that Liberty Seguros, the company I deal with, has a special division for Ex Pats. Please do not take this terminology lightly as the investment in the Ex Pat policies is very high, as they are different policies than those offered on the Spanish marketplace. For example, when calling for the grua, check how much distance is covered by your insurance as in most cases this is limited and over that level, you will need to pay, which is not cheap. Also the telephone number you call to make a claim is usually a premium number, which can be very costly. Liberty Seguros offers unlimited grua mileage, and you can call my office on a local number to speak with my Claims Administrator, who of course is bi-lingual and there to assist you. The house policy offered by Liberty Seguros is comprehensive and despite what you can be told, other house policies in Spain, I can assure you, do not have the same coverage. There is even a certain amount of water cover available, which is unique. When you consider the house purchase is the biggest purchase you make, please do not go on price alone and false promises. All the Liberty Seguros policies mentioned offer a Cashback bonus at the moment, for all new business, so now is the time to change. I can also assure you that on renewal you will not be given a huge increase on your premium, as can often happen when you are given a very unrealistic cheap price for your insurance.

For more information contact one of my offices or visit my website www.jennifercunningham.net. My consultants are there to help you with good honest advice, supported by one of the biggest insurance companies in the world.