DPM Finanzas is a Spanish company specialising in financial advice and operating as an independent CNMV (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores) registered investment advisor. Its main services include providing financial advice, financial planning, economic reports and corporate finance.

In Spain, banks and insurance companies monopolise financial services. They have tended to standardise the service, pushing the mass sale of financial products and repeatedly generating conflicts of interest in decision-making. In this environment, DPM was created to meet a real need for investors seeking professional, global, objective and independent financial advice. DPM Finanzas is a well-positioned and fully independent firm for a pre- and post-Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) world.

The revision of MiFID II, now due for implementation on 3 January 2018, will represent a fundamental change for investment advice in Europe and particularly in Spain. In the post MiFID II world investment advice to retail or professional clients resident in the European Union will be classified as either independent or not.

Under MiFID II those giving investment advice as ‘independent’ will be required to:

• Detail how the advice will meet the client’s objective
• Show whether they will provide an ongoing assessment of suitability
• It will need to “assess a sufficiently wide range of instruments” from a range of providers, not just the firm’s own products
• If an adviser offers products that have close links to the firm, these links will have to be disclosed at an early stage
• There will be a ban on independent advisers receiving or retaining payments/inducements, effectively banning the payment of retrocessions or commissions to independent financial advisers, including non-monetary benefits
• At least once a year, not just at the point of investment, clients must be told of the total aggregated costs and charges, including for ‘ancillary’ services and the cost of the advice
• On corporate governance, a considerably strengthened regime encompasses rules on the diversity of management bodies of investment firms, as well as the time commitments for members of such bodies. A ‘fit and proper’ test is also being introduced for such members, requiring them to have knowledge, skill and experience to understand the risks of the business. Firms will also be required to have a remuneration policy that encourages responsible business conduct and fair treatment of clients and avoids conflicts of interest.

Professionalism and experience are the primary attributes of the DPM team, which encompasses an in-depth knowledge of clients’ requirements and aversion to risk. This approach allows DPM to prepare specific investment proposals that are best suited to each client and in which each client fully understands the features of their investments and the risks involved.

DPM’s team of partners is Carlos Farrás, ex-Head of Investments at Barclays Spain, who possesses more than 17 years of experience within financial markets. Alfonso Valdivielso is ex-Head of Private Banking at Barclays Spain & Portugal, who has more than 22 years of financial markets experience, Jose Miguel Murgui and Jorge Farrás. The latter have been CFOs and CEOs of different multinational companies and have more than 40 years of experience each.

In order to cover all the needs of its customers, DPM has become:

• multi-service: advice, financial planning, financial reports, corporate finance
• multi-platform: the client decides bank/brokerage/insurance companies
• multi-product: financial and insurance products
• multi-asset: equity, fixed income, commodities etc
• multi-jurisdiction.

Transparency and independence

DPM Finanzas has made the decision not to take any rebate or commission on the investments the company recommends. Consequently, every client is assured that there is no conflict of interest in the recommendations they receive, DPM’s only source of income is the commissions charged for the company’s services.

Technology is also key to DPM’s services, the use of the latest financial software, first-class reporting and digital signature protocols allows the firm to achieve one of its main goals: to simplify its clients investment process.

DPM, as an institutional firm, has signed different financial agreements with major Spanish and international banks and insurance companies. These agreements give DPM’s clients access to preferred cost conditions on financing operations or investment transactions. Ultimately DPM believes, “being properly advised is not a guarantee of success but it reduces the likelihood of failures”. It’s a premise that serves the company well.

Further information
www.dpmfinanzas.com