By Peter Dougherty
IF you’re reading this article, it’s likely that English is your native language and that you spend time in Spain.
If so, you’ve likely experienced cultural, language, and other challenges trying to navigate Spanish daily life.
So, you’ll understand why I’m impressed with what my colleague Jose Suarez-Lledo has accomplished.
Jose is a Spaniard who earned a PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Personally, I can’t imagine earning a PhD anywhere. In any language. But to do so in one’s second language is a remarkable accomplishment.
Making it even more impressive is that the economics program at the University of Pennsylvania ranks consistently among the top ten in the U.S.
And, if you’re a native English speaker in Spain, it’s also likely you’re aware of two realities: that Spain is not at the cutting edge of the global financial world and that native English speakers are not at the center of the Spanish financial world.
It’s as if we’re two steps back from the front of the global financial queue. That’s what makes Jose such a valuable resource to clients of Bissan Wealth Management: he understands both the practical investment needs of expats in Spain and the trailblazing theories of finance’s top minds.
Jose’s career after graduation reads like a tour of the institutions that shape global finance. He joined Moody’s Analytics in London as a Director, leading analytical consulting projects for major banks, pension funds, and asset managers.
He then returned to Spain to work at CaixaBank, where he served in the Strategic Planning and Research department, providing macroeconomic projections and financial market analysis directly to senior leadership.
These weren’t jobs you stumble into. They reflect a professional trajectory built at the intersection of rigorous academic research and hands-on financial practice – a combination that is, frankly, uncommon in the investment industry, and even less so in Spain.
Currently, Jose is the advisor to the Global Gradient fund, one of very few investment vehicles in Spain that relies on artificial intelligence and machine learning to make investment decisions.
The fund applies quantitative models built on three pillars of financial data: macroeconomic trends, company fundamentals, and market indicators.
It analyses roughly 3,000 publicly listed companies and 2,000 ETFs worldwide, and it hedges all currency exposure.
The results speak clearly. Since inception, the fund has delivered an annualised return of about 14%, comfortably ahead of standard benchmark portfolios.
Jose is also part of the investment team at BISSAN Wealth Management, where he helps advise the Bissan Largo Plazo fund, a long-term equity strategy designed around the principle that, over time, a well-diversified portfolio that captures the right factors tends to generate solid growth.
That idea, simple as it sounds, sits at the heart of BISSAN’s approach to financial planning for families, which seeks to match investment strategies for the fund with its goal-based investment approach for families.
Even while managing investments, Jose continues to teach finance at three prestigious business schools in Spain: U Pompeu Fabra, IESE, and ESADE. He also contributes actively to public economic debate on X and LinkedIn, where he regularly analyses financial markets and Spanish macroeconomic policy with the kind of depth you’d normally find behind an academic paywall – but in plain language.
I work alongside Jose at BISSAN and can tell you that what sets him apart is not just the credentials – though those are formidable.
It’s his insistence on intellectual honesty and clear communication. If the data doesn’t support a thesis, he won’t dress it up. If a model underperforms, he says so publicly and explains what he’s doing about it.
As Jose explains: “When I arrived at the University of Pennsylvania, I quickly realized that survival would depend on something beyond textbooks.
“You’re sitting in seminars alongside some of the brightest minds in economics – Nobel laureates on the faculty, future Federal Reserve researchers down the hall – and everything moves fast.
“That experience taught me that the most valuable skill isn’t speed of thought. It’s discipline of thought. That’s something I carry into every investment decision I make today.”
In an industry that often celebrates fast-talking explanations, Jose prides himself on well-thought-out clarity.
And for those of us making important financial decisions while living between two countries, that’s exactly what we need.
Peter Dougherty is a Financial Planner at BISSAN Wealth Management in Spain. He holds an MBA in finance from Columbia University in New York and an MS in Spanish Taxation (Máster en Fiscalidad y Tributación) from Nebrija University in Spain. He is a European Financial Planner (EFP) in Spain and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor® in the United States.
For more information: https://www.financial-planning-in-spain.com
Peter Dougherty
- MBA in finance
- MS in Spanish taxation
- BS in Economics
- European Financial Planner in Spain
- Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor® in U.S.
- Author of two financial planning books
Certified Financial Planner™ in U.S.
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