Groundbreaking New Book By American Financial Advisor In Spain
Navigating American finances as a Spaniard in the U.S. can be a very bumpy road. Fortunately, a new book, La Hoja de Ruta Fiscal y Financiera para los españoles en EE.UU., has been written to lend them a hand.
The author is Peter Dougherty, an American financial planner at BISSAN Wealth Management, a pioneering financial planning company in Spain. Thanks to his successful career working on Wall Street in New York, Dougherty has a knack for explaining in easily understood language how the financial world works. This ability can be particularly useful to Spaniards in the United States as they face a financial and tax paradigm different than their own.
Dougherty also draws upon his knowledge of the financial system in Spain he’s gained working at BISSAN. This unique combination of experiences helps to make La Hoja de Ruta a practical and useful guide for every Spaniard living in the U.S.
Dougherty begins the book with a description of the financial entities in each country, providing insights such as the importance of banks in Spain and how in the U.S., Investment Advisers and the obligations they owe clients (“fiduciary”) differ from Broker-Dealers and what they owe their clients (“suitability” standard).
He also discusses the U.S. financial regulatory framework: whether and when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the various state financial authorities have oversight.
In the second chapter, Dougherty discusses the tax-advantaged financial “tools” available in the United States but unknown to most Spaniards: trusts, municipal bonds, tax-deferred retirement plans, and college education savings plans. The third and fourth chapters help Spaniards understand how income taxes differ in Spain and the U.S.
First, by explaining the peculiarities of U.S. taxes: Adjusted Gross Income, Basis, Phaseouts, Alternative Minimum Tax and other fiscal concepts that don’t exist in Spain.
Lastly, by describing how Impuesto sobre Patrimonio, usufructo, coeficiente multiplicador and other Spanish taxation basics have no equivalent in U.S. taxes.
La Hoja de Ruta, now available on Amazon and in bookstores, is a great addition to any bookshelf.
Peter Dougherty works as a financial planner at BISSAN Wealth Management in Spain. He’s certified as a European Financial Planner (EFP) by the European Financial Planning Association of Spain and as both a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor® and a Foreign Account Tax Compliance (FATCA) specialist in the United States.
