In the aftermath of South Africa’s downgrade to junk status by two major ratings agencies, it is feared that the country will begin a self-reinforcing downward spiral. Until the end of 2016, Azar Jammine, the director and chief economist of Econometrix, felt that the nation was experiencing a “slow erosion, not a huge slump.” However, in an article published in October last year by the Mail & Guardian, Stanlib’s chief economist, Kevin Lings, warned that the […]
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How to Reduce Estate Costs
A death is often a traumatic enough event, without the added burden of dealing with estate matters. Unfortunately, many people underestimate the costs related to death, especially the smaller fees that quickly add up. Consequently, loved ones sometimes find themselves in situations where they have to sell valuable assets in order to settle the outstanding debts of the deceased. In an article recently published on Moneyweb, the chairperson of FISA, Ronel Williams, offers advice on how […]
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The Value of Good Advice
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 world of financial advice on its head and render it a fee-charging service – just like any other professional service, such […]
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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 may have different investment vehicles inside their retirement investment plan. This post refers specifically to living annuities – and can be […]
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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) downgrade of the country’s international credit rating to junk status and the subsequent currency crash. In spite of Jacob Zuma’s attempts […]
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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 economic climate, in which certain human rights are sadly still far from inalienable, most parents understand that it is important to […]
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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 advice a greater reality; creating a new financial advice scenario. And this stage is due to be implemented later this year. […]
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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 website. The article presents some insightful graphs and specific trends that may not interest everyone, but certainly paint the scene in […]
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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 face every day, being tax compliant is often not at the top of the list and tax deadlines often come and […]
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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 per annum. (Around 100 000 taxpayers are affected) Dividend withholding tax increased from 15% to 20% (this will have an impact […]
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