How to Choose the Right Expat Financial Adviser (and Avoid the Wrong One)

In a change of tone to our usual insights, Managing Partner, Ben Rockell, shares his experience of expat ''financial advisers,'' the conflicts of interest they exhibit, how to identify trusted, fixed fee financial advisers, and why this formed the basis of our Private Office.

Setting the Scene

Let’s call him “Chris” – a self-styled independent financial adviser (IFA) who loudly proclaims on his website that he never takes commissions. “Fee-only,” he insists. “Unbiased. Transparent.”

But behind the scenes, Chris was demanding double-digit commissions to promote a credit-linked note to his clients – a product he then trashed publicly when we refused - because it is not possible - to pay him. The issue wasn’t the structure (which, incidentally, had institutional-grade underwriting, Bloomberg listing, and Euroclear settlement). It was that we wouldn’t pay him 10% (or more!) up front.

This is not a rare story. It’s just one of thousands that expats fall for every year. 

The Real Risk in Expat Wealth: Misaligned Incentives

For years, offshore advisory firms have thrived on opacity. Many IFAs – especially those operating in expat hubs like the UAE, Hong Kong, and Singapore – claim to work in their clients’ best interest, while secretly negotiating massive kickbacks from product providers.

In Chris’s case, he wanted 10%+ commission for distributing a structured credit note yielding 13%. You don’t need a finance degree to see the problem: if a product returns 13% and the salesman wants 10%, who’s paying for the shortfall? Spoiler alert: the client.

These practices aren’t just unethical – they’re financially dangerous. The adviser’s incentive is not to find the best product for the client. It’s to find the product that pays him the most, an outcome only detrimental to his clients.

Risk and Return: A Concept Some Advisers Still Don’t Understand

Chris, like many others, launched a blog post slamming the same product he previously wanted to flog. Why? Because he wasn’t the one earning from it anymore. In his critique, he showed a clear lack of understanding of how structured credit works – mocking the idea of taking on credit risk while ignoring that credit risk is precisely why investors earn a return.

Without risk, there is no return. That’s the first principle of investing — finance 101. Yet this is someone entrusted with managing clients’ pensions and long-term savings. The thought of the exposure and inadequate advice they might be receiving is genuinely alarming. If he can’t grasp the basics, what else is being overlooked?

In reality, it’s likely not ignorance — just the mask slipping. He wasn’t used to being told “no.” He didn’t get his fat commission, so he turned on the product. But impartiality and clear disclosure of conflicts of interest are the very foundation of independent wealth management — the bare minimum of fiduciary duty.

Still, who needs ethics when there’s a 10%+ commission on the table, right?

Red Flags: What Every Expat Should Look For

If you’re an expat looking for financial advice, here are some red flags to watch for:

• No transparency around fees: If your adviser won’t show you how they’re paid, walk away.
• Commission-based advice disguised as “independent”: Many advisers falsely claim to be fee-only while collecting secret backdoor commissions.
• Guaranteed returns or flashy offers: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• High-pressure sales tactics: A good adviser educates. A bad one rushes you to sign paperwork.
• No regulatory oversight: Many offshore advisers operate under loose regulation or through shell companies. Always check where and how they’re licensed. Many are regulated by entities like Labuan in Malaysia whilst recommending investments to clients in Qatar or the UAE. 

The Offshore Problem No One Talks About

Too many offshore advisers aren’t trained. They’re salespeople with little understanding of structured credit, investment risk, or financial planning. And they operate in environments where client protections are weak, enforcement is rare, and conflicts of interest are the norm.

It’s not just about bad advice. It’s about entire portfolios being loaded with toxic products, locking clients into years of underperformance or, worse, total loss.

You deserve better.

We Only Work With True Fixed-Fee Advisers

At Kingsbury Private Office, we believe impartiality is non-negotiable. That’s why we only work with financial advisers who operate on a true fixed-fee model – no commissions, no retrocessions, and no conflicts. We have helped several clients access trusted partners and to review their current portfolios.

These advisers are selected for their professionalism, regulatory oversight, and transparent fee structures. They disclose everything upfront, charge a flat fee for advice, and don’t take hidden payments from the products they recommend.

This alignment of interests is critical. It ensures that investment decisions are made in your best interest – not shaped by how much someone stands to earn from your portfolio.

Identifying and recommending financial advisers with integrity at their core was one of the main reasons our Private Office exists. I have seen financial advisers – i.e. slimy salesmen in flashy suits – ruin retirements, wipe out children’s education funds, and destroy years of careful saving. All because they were incentivised to sell, not to advise.

Our Private Office was built to be the antidote to that. Over time, it has grown beyond financial advice – supporting expats with trusted connections across real estate, corporate structuring, relocation, tax, and legal services. But that founding mission remains: to protect clients from the industry’s worst actors and to give them access to professionals who act in their interests, not against them.

If you’re an expat and you’ve ever had a doubt about the advice you’re getting – you probably have good reason.