Why the next decade will redefine financial advice, and why UK expats need cross-border guidance more than ever...

November 28, 2025

By Steve Thompson | Founder, Atlas Bridge Wealth

The financial world is changing faster than at any point since the early 2000s. According to leading economist Graeme Leach, the 2020s are not just another economic cycle, they are a turning point. Geopolitical tension, demographic shifts, AI-driven disruption and increasing government intervention are rewiring the global financial landscape.

For advisers, and especially for UK nationals living abroad, this decade may be the most consequential of the 21st century.

At Atlas Bridge Wealth, this transformation isn’t abstract theory. It’s visible every day in the decisions our clients face: Should I leave the UK? How do new tax rules affect my pension? Will my assets be safe across borders? How do I balance my lifestyle in Portugal with long-term financial security?

The answers matter more now than ever.

A new era of instability...and opportunity

Leach is clear: global instability is accelerating. Political polarisation, supply chain rewiring and long-term workforce shortages mean governments are intervening more aggressively, particularly through taxation and regulation.

For UK citizens, this has already shown up through:

• rising UK tax burdens,

• frozen thresholds,

• changes to capital gains and dividends,

• the shift from domicile-based to residency-based inheritance tax,

• and increasingly complex pension rules.

It’s no surprise more people are exploring life abroad. Portugal, Spain, Cyprus and France remain key destinations for those seeking a combination of lifestyle, lower taxation, and long-term stability.

But moving country no longer simplifies your finances. It complicates them, and that’s exactly where the need for cross-border expertise increases.

Diverging economies mean diverging tax systems

Leach predicts that regions will increasingly diverge economically. In practice, this means tax systems will diverge too.

A UK tax resident and a Portuguese tax resident will live under two completely different sets of rules, each influenced by:

• different inflation pressures,

• different fiscal priorities,

• and different social systems.

For UK expats, this is a double-edged sword:

• Opportunity: Countries like Portugal still offer tax-efficient pension regimes (NHR2, 85/15 rule), lifestyle advantages and favourable treatment for foreign assets.

• Risk: Misinterpreting these rules can result in double taxation, unexpected liabilities, or structures that collapse upon audit.

Bridging this gap, connecting UK financial structures to EU tax frameworks, is no longer a specialist service. It is essential.

Regulation is tightening, and the advice gap is growing

Advice firms are navigating unprecedented regulatory pressure. Consumer Duty, MiFID II, IDD, new AML requirements and cross-border reporting have moved the bar higher.

For UK expats, this creates a unique challenge:

• UK advisers often cannot continue advising when a client becomes EU-resident.

• EU advisers often do not understand UK pensions, UK tax residency, or the complexities of the UK–Portugal treaty.

Clients fall straight into a regulatory gap, often without realising it.

Atlas Bridge Wealth was built specifically to close this gap. With UK chartered qualifications and EU licensing, we provide advice that complies fully with both frameworks. In a decade of tightening rules, compliant continuity is priceless.

Technology will define the advisers who survive

Graeme Leach stresses the need for advisers to embrace technology to increase productivity and client value.

This decade will reward firms who can:

• automate efficiently,

• deliver real-time reporting,

• communicate consistently,

• and blend human advice with intelligent technology.

Atlas Bridge Wealth has built this into its DNA, from digital onboarding to automated portfolio access, daily insights, and Nova, our integrated virtual paraplanner.

Technology doesn’t replace advice. It amplifies it, giving clients faster answers, clearer planning and a smoother experience.

The human side: communication, clarity and long-term thinking

Despite all the upheaval, Leach ended his message with optimism. The UK retains immense strengths, innovation, agility, resilience, and so do the people who leave it in search of a better life.

He emphasised a principle that sits at the heart of our firm:

“This decade will reward advisers who remain agile, deepen client communication, and anchor recommendations in long-term planning.”

For UK expats, long-term planning isn’t optional, it’s survival:

• Understanding how pensions are taxed across borders

• Preparing for residency-based inheritance tax

• Avoiding punitive 28% reclassification of pension withdrawals

• Ensuring assets remain compliant in both jurisdictions

• Planning for the return journey (one in two expats eventually move back to the UK)

Short-term noise is dangerous. Long-term clarity is transformative.

What this means for UK expats in Portugal (and across Europe for that matter)

This decade will reshape financial advice. But for UK nationals abroad, three truths stand out:

✔ You need advice that spans both countries, not just one.

The UK and Portugal are rewriting tax rules faster than ever.

✔ You need an adviser who is both UK-qualified and EU-licensed.

Anything less risks non-compliance.

✔ You need a long-term plan that can adapt to geopolitical and regulatory shifts.

The pace of change isn’t slowing down.

Atlas Bridge Wealth exists for exactly this moment in history, to give you clarity, confidence, and a strategy that works across borders, across tax systems, and across the next decade of global change.

Conclusion: the future belongs to the prepared

Leach describes a decade of instability. We see a decade of opportunity - if clients are guided properly.

For UK expats, the world is becoming more complex, but with the right structures, the right planning, and the right guidance, it can also become more rewarding.

At Atlas Bridge Wealth, our mission is simple:

To guide your financial growth, wherever life takes you, especially in a world that refuses to stand still.