I moved to Rome about 5 years ago and started working for an International Financial Advisory company, giving financial advice to Expats in Italy.  I married an Italian/Iranian and therefore married into the country as well, for its good and bad points.  To be honest I love it, the weather food, atmosphere, culture, the whole lot.  I now have a baby boy and he can grow up with a cross cultural upbringing.   Italy and Italians are infamous for their flamboyant behaviour and marrying into a Southern Italian, American immigrant Italian/Iranian family has had its up and downs but mostly ups.  In the last few years I have become a lot more active in the local Expat community for work and for social life as well, so I can make contact with more like minded folks.  12 months ago, I also got involved with the formation of a Association of British Expats in Italy and the group is going well, with an inaugural event at the British Ambassadors Residence in Rome.  We hope it will grow and we can bring together a very fragmented community in Italy.

Anyway, my real story is that of work and trying to bring Expats a fair deal in finance.  I have to say that is an up hill struggle.  An industry which exploits higher paid expats,  jealous and threatened competitors, do not make it easy.  I worked in the UK for a couple of insurance companies and then HSBC Bank and was indoctrinated into the ways of providing people with good quality financial advice from the off.  Suitability tests, full and complete reporting, the need for top quality service and review.  I got the opportunity to move to Italy with an offshore fianncial advisory and jumped at the chance.  A way to get away from the UK, rain, and a way of life that I felt disconnected with after travelling 5 years earlier in Australasia, and S.E Asia.   Little did I know what awaited me.  Miselling, lack of regualtion, no professional insurance, and general bad advice practices.  Expats get a really bad deal.  But unfortunately the industry exploits its position and the advisers exploit the clients.  They are the only ones who win.  The client always comes out worse. 

So I spent 5 years in a position where I tried to change a culture from within. It didn't work!  The longer I stayed with this particular company the more bad practice I saw and the employment of advisers with no experience, lack of qualification, and bad ethics forced my hand.  In 2009, I decided enough was enough and I had planned to return to the UK to work in a complaint industry, where clients were protected.  I could no longer watch malpractice in front of my eyes.  I also wanted to protect my professional qualifications as the regulatory net was tightening. 

And then salvation, I came across AES International.  A fully EU compliant multi jurisdictional cross border financial services provider.  Sounds very elaborate, but it means that a financial adviser can be 100% legal and not working in the 'grey market' (more like black, but we don't want to offend anyone).

AES International (www.aesinternational.com) are the ONLY International financial services provider with the correct EU license to provide this service across EU states. And it makes a difference.  They also have a clear code about treating customer fairly and exporting UK best practice into the International sector.

Its not easy when the industry is against you, but our message is getting out slowly.  Clients will start to get fair deal, we will drive down costs, allow people to pay fees instead of high commissions for financial products,  and help people take action against advisers who have given them bad advice. 

Thats it.  Is this a message that people want to read about.  I think so but then I am the financial adviser and I know the type of image it normally forms when those 2 word are put together.  Is this a sales pitch, I guess so, but also its about educating people about better ways.  I think this is the purpose of Expatinterviews.  Being a financial adviser comes with a stereotype to overcome, and one that is probably justified given the people who work in the industry now.  But as Obama said in his campaign, it is time for change!  Someone has to drive that change.  If no one stands up and trys to do something different then nothing is fundamentally going to change.

Customers your time has come.   Do your research and make sure you know what you are getting into.  Don't settle for less than you should expec !!  

Good luck