As high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) continue to leave the UK in significant numbers, traditional financial advisers face an increasingly complex challenge: maintaining trusted relationships across borders in a tightly regulated landscape.
Recent data from Savory & Partners reveals a sharp uptick in UK relocation enquiries following the Autumn 2024 Budget, with destinations such as the UAE, Portugal, Greece, and Malta attracting a growing share of HNWs. The abolition of the non-domicile regime, looming tax reforms, and heightened uncertainty have made residency planning an urgent financial concern.
Yet for many regulated advisers, cross-border continuity remains elusive.
The Licensing Trap: A Barrier to Client Continuity
Financial advice is a regulated activity—and rightly so, to protect consumers. However, once financial planning is wrapped into regulated services, the entire advisory relationship becomes constrained by jurisdiction-specific permissions.
For an adviser to provide regulated financial planning advice post-relocation, they must hold dual regulatory licenses—both in the client’s new country of residence and in the UK. In practice, this is a significant barrier. Many firms are unwilling or unable to secure dual permissions, and clients are often forced to rebuild their financial relationships from scratch—at a time when continuity is most needed.
The Perils of Offshore Regulation
Compounding the problem, the conduct of regulated advisers overseas is often not held to the same standards as those in the UK. Financial services, already one of the least trusted industries globally, have a long history of cross-border misconduct. A mis-selling scandal in the pension and investment transfer market was not just likely—it was inevitable.
Unsuitable and inexpert advice, a lack of transparency, and undisclosed commission-based remuneration—coupled with limp, ineffective regulatory oversight—have together led to the destruction of millions of pounds’ worth of life savings and pensions. For clients navigating international moves, this presents a grave risk to their financial well-being.
A Global Role for Holistic Wealth Planners
This is precisely where a Holistic Wealth Planner steps in. Operating outside the regulatory perimeter of product distribution, a holistic planner acts as a financial concierge, offering strategy, structure, and stewardship across borders—without the need for regulatory duplication.
Membership and accreditation with leading UK professional bodies—such as the Personal Finance Society (PFS) and the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI)—demonstrate a globally recognised standard of professionalism. Qualifications like Chartered Financial Planner and Certified Financial Planner™ are respected across borders, reflecting a deep commitment to technical competence, ethical integrity, and lifelong learning. Importantly, adherence to internationally recognised codes of conduct transcends national regulation, ensuring that holistic wealth planners remain accountable to the highest standards—regardless of where their clients reside. In this way, professional integrity becomes a passport in itself.
Holistic wealth planning separates the act of financial planning from the act of financial product recommendation. It is not regulated in most jurisdictions, including the key expatriate destinations such as the UAE, Portugal, Malta, and Greece. This model allows planners to maintain relationships without interruption, supporting clients in aligning their wealth with life goals, irrespective of geography.
There are exceptions—Australia, India, and Quebec, for example—where regulatory perimeters explicitly include financial planning. But in the majority of cases, a pure planning relationship is unregulated and can legally continue, offering clarity and consistency as families relocate.
Why This Matters Now
The scale of migration is not marginal. Dubai alone has attracted an estimated 6,700 HNWIs from the UK in 2024. And these individuals are not just moving money—they are relocating lives, families, and legacies. They seek advisers who can walk with them through the transition—not just transact at the beginning and end.
The traditional intermediary model, often defined by tied product recommendations and geographically-bound permissions, simply cannot deliver the seamless experience modern mobile clients expect.
A Call to Action for UK Advisers
As Craig Ritchie of GSB Wealth has rightly noted, expats are vulnerable to predatory practices in less regulated markets. By stepping into a holistic, planning-led role, ethical UK advisers can provide a safer, more robust alternative—without breaching regulatory boundaries.
This approach doesn’t compete with regulated advice—it complements it. A global network of holistic planners, supported by a regulated ecosystem for implementation where needed, is a powerful model for continuity, trust, and impact.
The Academy Advantage: Global Reach, Human-Centric Values
At the Academy of Life Planning, we’re already meeting this challenge head-on. Our holistic wealth planners are active on every continent—with the sole exception of Antarctica (no penguins have joined our community to date). From Singapore to São Paulo, we are helping individuals reclaim agency over their financial futures and aligning money with meaning.
As the world becomes more fluid, so must our approach to planning. And in doing so, we can offer what no license alone can provide: a relationship that travels.
Your Money or Your Life
Unmask the highway robbers – Enjoy wealth in every area of your life!
By Steve Conley. Available on Amazon. Visit www.steve.conley.co.uk to find out more.
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