In Focus News & Insights

How / why did you get into your line of work in the financial services sector?

I had a little help from the Head of Year at the school I was at; he suggested that if I didn’t get good grades I should look for a job – so I spent the summer looking for work as a backup and got offered a position with Barclays International Bank; and got great exam results – the rest though is history as they say.

How / why did you get into your line of work in the financial services sector?

Back in 2007, I was looking for a new challenge and saw an advertisement for a trainee financial advisor role in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Without informing my family or even my girlfriend at the time, I applied and a couple of interviews later and I was offered the job. I flew out there with my girlfriend and ultimately it turned into a lifechanging 5 years. Here I am still doing the job I love 14 years later!

How / why did you get into your line of work in the financial services sector?

In 1988 a financial adviser from Refuge Assurance encouraged me to start saving money as I had just begun a new job. I said I would like to do what he was doing, so he got me an interview and 34 years later here I am still doing the same thing – helping people with their money.

Despite several obstacles on the way, global equities resumed their uptrend on the 1st Quarter of 2021. Many of these were discussed throughout the first 3 months of 2021 and many of the tops were called for the major stock indices; however, we saw the S&P500, the Dow Jones and the German Dax registering fresh new All-Time Highs during this period.

Some of the most confusing and complex areas for any UK expat to decipher are their tax obligations, in both their new home country, and their country of origin. Should you be paying tax on foreign income? Is there any kind of foreign residence tax exemption? How can I get a residence tax definition? It’s a labyrinthine subject, and one that merits the help of a financial professional, but it’s good to be forearmed with a basic grasp of the subject before you do so. If you are liable to pay UK tax you will be expected to file a tax return, failure to do so or not doing so in good time, can result in penalties and even interest payments on monies owed.

What is the most important aspect of your work, in relation to clients, or the part of your day-to-day role which gives you the most satisfaction?

I don’t have direct contact with clients unless they visit head office, and that’s become far less frequent over the last 18 months – I suppose the head office team are my clients and it’s my job to support them. As office receptionist my role has changed a lot since more of the day to day business interactions are taking place online and not face to face. But I keep busy by helping everyone in the office in whatever way I can, even if that’s just keeping them supplied with coffee! I get real satisfaction from being part of a team and knowing that I can help to ease someone else’s workload and make their day a little bit better.

One of the main concerns of parents when they are considering relocation to Spain, is of course the quality of the education available. Alongside questions around the type of employment opportunities available and the overall quality of life, education is one of the key factors in deciding where to eventually settle.

If, as is often the case, the family does not speak Spanish fluently, this often leads them to consider the option of an international school in Spain. There are no shortage of options in this regard. With a large, thriving community of expats already living there, those looking for a Spanish private school will find any number of options available.

How / why did you get into your line of work in the financial services sector?

I’ve always been very service orientated, whether it was waiting tables in my teens or building and maintaining Enterprise network infrastructures in Spain and Portugal. I enjoy understanding complex, underlying concepts and I get great satisfaction when I can translate it into something my clients understand, relate to and see the benefits of. I got into financial services because I felt that it was very similar to my background in IT in that I continue to build networks, bridges and connections, however this time it’s not with equipment, it’s with people.