I enjoy using lines from movies when talking to clients about investing and financial planning. For example there is the classic line by Jack Nicolson’s character from “A few good men” when he is on the witness stand and being asked about the truth of an investigation to which he replies…”You want the truth? You cant handle the truth”. Sadly we get to use this when telling clients the truth about being...

I have been a huge fan of Fundisa, having written about it often and having encouraged many of my clients to invest in it…however, after initially being a huge fan of the product, I have done some more work on it and as I see it, the big hurdle that Fundisa has is the underlying fund and its potential returns over a 15 year period…so much so, that I am questioning whether or not I can continue to support it. Here is my ...

I have written quite a bit about the fiasco that was Ovation Investment Services, a linked investment service provider (LISP) that was put into curatorship as a result of its links with Fidentia. Well that was more than 3 years ago now and still there is no end in sight to the curatorship – at least not according to the curators… “As for the last question posed in your email, at this point in time, it is impossible to...

Much was made about the RSA Retail Bond when it was launched and about how it would provide a safe and cheap investment with a reasonable returns to the “man-in-the-street”. Well, I have been trying to buy some of these for a “man-in-the-street” using the RSA Retail Bond website – what a nightmare. There is an application form online but no details where to submit it or how to pay the funds into an account. So...

When you finally get to retire from your pension fund or retirement annuity you are faced with a significant (and very important) choice about what kind of annuity you will purchase (with the compulsory portion of your fund). Simply put, there are 2 choices: a conventional life annuity (through an insurance company) or a “newer” Living Annuity (usually through a unit trust company). The differences are explained...

Consider the following – what would you advise the client? Client A took out an insurance based RA in 2003 (23 year term). She started a debit order of R450 pm (escalating at 10% pa). The current fund value is R63500 The company claims a return of 11.8% pa on the funds but the maths shows that she has had about 6% per annum. She now wants to move the RA to a unit trust RA (where there is no contractual obligation and no initial...