Stuart Porter
Financial Planning for Life Across Borders
Bringing long-term clarity to pensions, investments and estate planning for British families in the UAE.
Clarity on what matters. Confidence in what comes next.
Arrange an Introductory ConversationA short, confidential conversation. No preparation needed.
Understanding The Bigger Picture
Most clients are trying to answer one underlying question:
Will what I have in place continue to hold up as life evolves?
For British families in the UAE, that question is rarely straightforward. Pensions, investments and estate arrangements often sit across more than one country — built up over years of professional life, each decision made sensibly at the time, but never reviewed as a whole.
When financial arrangements are not coordinated, choices made in one area can affect outcomes in another, sometimes years later and often in ways that were entirely avoidable.
My role is to bring structure and clarity to your financial affairs — so you have a clear view of the whole picture, and decisions are made with that picture in mind.
The Questions Most Clients Are Trying to Answer
These questions often bring clients to seek a clearer view of their overall position.
Where Planning Begins
My planning process begins with questions that have nothing to do with money.
The first conversation typically includes questions such as:
"What is more important to you than money?"
"Describe your ideal retirement — where would it be, and what would a typical Tuesday look like?"
These are not warm-up questions. They shape everything that follows. A written summary of that conversation, with agreed objectives and confirmed next steps, forms the foundation of the planning work — so recommendations are always built on a clear understanding of what you are actually planning for.
A pension is not a goal. A life is.
Retirement Planning
A Clear View of What Is Achievable — and When
Retirement planning for expatriates often involves decisions across more than one country.
It starts with understanding what your current position supports, how different scenarios may unfold, and where adjustments may be needed. This includes the timing of retirement, the structure of income, and how future relocation could affect outcomes.
The aim is to give you a clear understanding of what is achievable and what needs attention.
Investment Planning
Capital Positioned Around Your Life — Not the Markets
Investment decisions are often framed around markets, performance and short-term opportunity.
The more important question is whether your capital is positioned to support how you want to live over time, particularly when that life may span more than one country.
Consistency and discipline tend to have a greater impact than reacting to market movements.
Estate and Legacy Planning
Estate and Legacy Planning Across Borders
For many British expatriates, estate planning extends across more than one legal and tax system.
UK inheritance tax may remain relevant, even after many years abroad. At the same time, assets, family members and legal frameworks often sit in different countries.
My STEP qualification in cross-border estates means this area of planning is handled with the same technical depth as the financial arrangements it sits alongside.
Where clients require will preparation or UAE-specific estate documentation, I can assist directly through Great British Wills, the estate planning consultancy I founded in 2016.
The objective is to ensure your financial planning supports, rather than conflicts with, your estate arrangements.
Ongoing Advice
Consistent Oversight as Your Life Evolves
You should not have to wonder whether your arrangements are still working. Ongoing advice means your financial plan is reviewed, maintained and adjusted as your life evolves — so you always have a clear point of reference, and you are not left managing the details yourself.
In practice:
In practice, ongoing advice is structured around a named programme of four meetings across the year — each with a defined focus, a clear purpose, and written outcomes provided afterwards. Quarter 1 is devoted to goals and direction. Quarter 2 to protection and resilience. Quarter 3 to estate planning and succession. Quarter 4 to investment progress. The programme repeats and deepens each year as circumstances evolve. This programme is personal to my practice and exclusive to my clients.
Find out more about Your Planning Year →
My fees are transparent and agreed in advance of any work being undertaken. Full details are on the Fees page.
Begin With an Introductory Conversation
Most conversations begin with a simple question: am I on the right track, or is something being overlooked? That is exactly what an initial conversation is for.
No preparation is needed. Just a focused, confidential conversation to understand where you are now and what may need attention.
A 30-minute video call, at a time that suits you. No obligation. No sales pitch. If it feels like a good fit, we can discuss next steps from there.
Arrange an Introductory Conversation