Else Beekman
If you were a detective hired to find the best financial planner for Americans in Spain, where would you begin? What would your Evidence Board — the collage of media, pinned to a pinboard or stuck to a wall, interconnected by string to show connections — look like?
You could begin by contacting the European Financial Planning Association of Spain, EFPA España. They set the standards for financial advisors and financial planners in all of Spain. Their website has a “Find a certified financial advisor” section that shows every registered financial planner and advisor. Only three European Financial Planners (EFPs) on their list have fewer than 3 names: Milenka Ivanova, Peter Dougherty, and Zhana Fenenko. Peter Dougherty is the only American.
Another investigative method is checking the database of Spain’s financial securities regulator, the CNMV (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores). You’ll see that Peter Dougherty is a registered agent of BISSAN Wealth Management, where he is a financial planner. Founded in Barcelona in 2010, BISSAN has been assisting clients with regulated, independent financial planning ever since. The CNMV both authorizes and regulates BISSAN Wealth Management.
The records kept at institutions of higher learning is another sleuthing method favored by detectives. Instituto Europeo de Asesoría Fiscal (the Institute of Taxation Studies) awarded Mr. Dougherty a Master’s degree in Spanish taxation and New York’s Columbia Business School awarded him an MBA in finance.
But what do the other techniques used by detectives tell us: stakeouts, checking DNA evidence, and interviewing eyewitnesses?
Stakeouts
If you were to follow Peter Dougherty for a few days, you’d discover that he works long hours for BISSAN Wealth Management. Expats in Spain face complications because every country’s financial rules and systems differ. Peter strives every day to confront these issues and help clients successfully plan their financial future.
DNA
Mr. Dougherty has finance in his veins. In addition to an MBA in finance and multiple financial credentials in Spain, he had a twenty-year career working on Wall Street in New York for investment banks First Boston, Lehman Brothers, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Peter has also written two finance books, one in Spanish and one in English. In his newest book — “La Hoja de Ruta Fiscal y Financiera para los españoles en EE.UU.” — he explains in Spanish how American and Spanish banking, tax, and financial systems differ. The book received the Literary Titan Book Award, which recognizes “outstanding nonfiction books that demonstrate exceptional quality in writing, research, and presentation.”
In 2023, Peter Dougherty published his first book, “The Dougherty Code: Secrets of Financial Planning in Spain Revealed”. In this book, he explains in English the financial opportunities and challenges facing expats in Spain.
Interviewing eyewitnesses
Thanks to BISSAN Wealth Management’s time-tested success, there is an abundance of clients that can attest to their professionalism, expertise and effectiveness. The detectives’ job is easy. In fact, more than 80% of BISSAN’s new clients are referred by satisfied existing clients.
It should no longer be a mystery; Peter Dougherty is the best financial planner for Americans in Spain. The evidence is compelling.
More information pdougherty@bissan.es, telephone +34 677 998 261
Also read: Help with financial planning in Spain is now available