Positive steps to regulate and improve the conduct and professionalism of the financial planning industry have been made over the past months and are now coming to a point where it will impact our clients. These steps have been called the Retail Distribution Review (RDR). On the surface, RDR is looking to turn the commission-based […]
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Living Annuities for Retirement Planning
One sneaky fact about retirement, that many of us often overlook, is that it arrives faster than we expect! Essentially, we are never too young to think about our retirement investments inside of a healthy financial portfolio. As you read this blog, please also bear in mind that each person’s retirement goals are unique and […]
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Junk Status – A Fallen Angel
The South African landscape of junk status is looking rocky and, in a time like this, it is important to stay informed about what is happening and how it could affect you. Political risks from South Africa’s cabinet reshuffle on the last day of March 2017 have been labelled accountable for Standard & Poor’s (S&P) […]
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Do High School Fees Equal High Quality Education?
In a land of inequality, education has a greater value than ever before and it can pave the path of success for children. However, many parents are financially crippling themselves in order to offer what is considered the ‘best’ education for their offspring, when this is arguably not wholly necessary. In an unstable political and […]
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Financial Advice Fees & RDR
Over the past year or so the financial planning industry has been positioning for significant reform and regulation around fees for financial advice, and Fin24 recently published an article on the Retail Distribution Review (RDR). The first phase of RDR is expected to bring South Africa a step closer to making direct payment for financial […]
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What will Trump your investments?
America is a massive global economy. Whilst we can all agree that whatever happens over there will certainly affect our economy and investment opportunities (local and offshore), you may have some questions as to how it affects us. Brian Kantor, chief economist and strategist with Investec Wealth, recently published his thoughts online on the BizNews […]
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Top tax tips for small businesses in South Africa
January may begin with resolutions for the year ahead – but March begins with Tax Resolutions for the next tax year. We promise ourselves to be a little more organised, a little more prudent and try to minimise our contributions the next time around. BusinessTech recently said that with the many challenges small business owners […]
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Budget 2017 – A quick precis
The Budget for 2017 has been presented to parliament and is awaiting final approval, but if all goes through as planned, here are some key issues that may affect your financial planning for the year – as well as your investment portfolio. Significant announcements New 45% tax rate for those earning more than R1.5 million […]
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Organize your life – Part 1
Some people are amazingly good at bringing order to chaos and organizing their lives in such a way that makes the rest of us simply stand and gawk, thinking ‘How do they do it?’. Finding just the right amount of order in your life will not only help you minimise waste – but it will […]
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Should you have a tax free savings account?
In an article recently published on Moneyweb Today (by Paul Leonard, CFP, Regional Head, Citadel), several points were made that succinctly provided useful insight for those considering the options about investing in a TFSA, and deciding whether or not it would be the most appropriate savings vehicle. Before making any final decisions, it’s always best […]
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