Chris Shaw
We all love living here in Spain, it’s a fantastic country to live in. As we know it has a great balance in terms of climate and general standard/ cost of living.
Most of us take pride in ensuring that we are formally registered and live by the set of rules that Spain gives us, as tedious and time-consuming as they can be at times.
Within the Financial Planning Industry that we work in, unfortunately, there are Advisers that don’t play by Spain’s set of standards and rules.
For a Financial Adviser to be able to issue regulated Investment Advice in Spain, they must be registered with one of the professional bodies recognised by the Spanish Regulator- the CNMV. This makes absolute perfect sense, as this is the country in which they are offering their services.
It works in a similar vein to the UK, which many of our clients are more familiar with. To trade as a Financial Adviser in the UK, you must be qualified to the UK standard known as Level 4 and be formally registered with the FCA as an active Adviser.
Spain isn’t dissimilar. To trade as a registered and regulated Financial Adviser, Spain insists that Advisers are qualified to a professional standard that is recognised by their governing body. The European Financial Planners Association (EFPA) is an example of this, in which insists that an Adviser is qualified to Level 4 standard. Worryingly, there are only a small number of firms that are offering Financial Advice to Expats whilst meeting the required legal standard.
The lack of registration & regulation of many Advisers in Spain has led to Advisers being able to effectively dodge any recourse, from poor or totally unqualified Financial Advice. This has resulted in substantial losses for the consumer and in some well-documented cases, loss of all invested capital.
You can check if a Financial Adviser is registered with the EFPA (Spain) to give Financial Advice at the below website, using the search tool:https://www.efpa.es/busca-tu-asesor-financiero-certificado/
Products commonly offered by Financial Advisers in Spain, are Spanish Compliant Investment Bonds. These are typically offered by Quilter International & Prudential International. Other such Bonds sold to Spanish residents are from companies such as Lombard International.
At Chorus Financial, all our Advisers are Qualified to Level 4-European Investment Practitioner Standard with the Spanish EFPA. This means that you can be assured that we are meeting the requirements to trade as a Financial Advisers here in Spain and are fulfilling the correct regulatory requirements.
If you feel you may have been affected by the topics discussed in this article or are considering an investment/Pension Transfer here in Spain, or you would like an existing investment reviewed, contact the Chorus team by clicking here- https://www.chorusfinancial.es/contact-us/, calling us on +34 965 641 163 or email info@chorusfinancial.es or visit www.chorusfinancial.es for more information.
Our Office Locations:
Chorus Financial – Benijófar
Chorus Financial, Benisol II Federico, Garcia Lorca 92, Local 6, Benijófar, 03178, Alicante
Chorus Financial – Jávea
Carretera del Cap de la Nau Placita, 122, 03730, Javea, Alicante
