The recent changes to Regulation 28 rules around retirement funds has caused a bit of “excitement” in the asset management industry and I have seen at least 2 articles making a case that the stricter enforcement of the Reg 28 rules make Retirement Annuities  unattractive investments, especially for younger investors (see the article by Jan Mouton of PSG Asset Management –...

I have come across a few situations recently where we have had to help people who are in major life transitions – retrenchment and retirement – and it amazes me that most of the people we have been asked to help have no idea of their income needs (budget). I was also chatting with a group of business people recently who have all been running businesses for over 15 years and yet a common theme seemed to be that they...

Not for the first time, I received an email from a client whose domestic worker is close to retirement and who is concerned about having “too much money” and that this will impact on her ability to qualify for an old age pension. She has been told (via the grapevine) that when she applies for a pension the government will investigate her personal circumstances and if she is “rich” she will not qualify for a pension. There are...

Was chatting with a friend who used to run quite a successful events company…I say used to because he has been directly impacted by the “conflicts of interest” legislation in the financial services industry. As a result of the legislation, companies can no longer “wine and dine” their clients (that is the financial advisors and brokers who represent them). I understand that the intention behind the legislation is to attempt to...

It’s a good job I don’t earn a living from writing…it would have been a very bad month and a number of people have reminded me that I have not updated the blog for a while. I guess it is nice to be “missed” but as I have explained to many of them, I usually write when I feel passionately about something… So does that mean that I’m not passionate at the moment? Not at all, on the contrary…I just don’t know that the things...

Here follow steps 7, 8 & 9… 7. Don’t be greedy! Emotions drive irrational behavior – 2 of them are fear and greed. Don’t give in to either. If it sounds too good to be true it (probably) is! When considering the returns offered, measure them against inflation (aim for real returns – those which are in excess of inflation). Inflation is currntly (oficially) low and in a low inflationary environment, ...