“Gold is the universal language understood by all nations.” (George Herbert) Just a few weeks ago, the gold price climbed above $2,500 per ounce for the first time in history. This has once again got South Africans talking about the attractiveness (or otherwise) of gold as an investment. Gold is probably one of the easiest…
In this newsletter we aim to demystify the term “formal emigration”, as there seems to be much confusion. Some brief points on formal emigration First, it is important to know that residency from a tax perspective (as defined by SARS), a citizenship perspective (as per Home Affairs) and residency from the Reserve Bank perspective (according…
You can reduce the tax you need to pay and also earn tax free returns if you make use of the tax efficient tools available to you. In order to maximise the benefit, you need to invest before February 29th 2020. Here is a brief list of what’s available and the major benefits: Retirement Annuities…
An integral part of the financial adviser’s role is helping retired clients to draw a rising income from their investment portfolios. Most clients want to know that they will be able to live a dignified and independent retirement without sacrificing on the quality of life they grew accustomed to during their working years. However, the…
Financial planning isn’t only about facts, figures and market returns. It’s a process that we follow to give you financial wellness which re-frames your wealth and perceptions to add meaning and joy to your life. Financial wellness provides you with a sense of security and very significantly, freedom of choice. Here are some of the…
On Thursday, 7 February 2019, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, delivered his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) since taking office on 15 February 2018. Ahead of the event there was a lot of media speculation (locally and internationally) and debate about the likely content and tone of Ramaphosa’s speech, especially ahead…
In this newsletter, we discuss human behaviour and how biases and pride may work very hard against achieving financial freedom in retirement. We look at loss aversion, lifestyle creep, and very importantly how to manage your salary increase. It’s those little changes in our behaviour, such as implementing a debit order auto-escalation for investment contributions,…
We’re nearing the end of the year and it’s time to think tax! And this time, it’s happy tax planning. The taxman doesn’t give us many breaks and when he does, we should embrace them. In this article, we remind you to plan well in advance for your RA and Tax-Free savings account top-ups. …
Sanlam has created a series of beautifully crafted videos on Life and Retirement. Do enjoy Conversation no 1 with Yourself which highlights the significance of all the little decisions we make along the way. It emphasizes the impact of choices such as ‘time off to find yourself’, the purchase of an overly expensive car and too much…
One of the most common headlines in the world currently relates to the concept of ‘trade wars’. This has quickly become the most cited risk to markets with 60% of the fund managers surveyed in the latest BofA Merrill Lynch Global Fund Manager Survey listing the possibility of a protracted trade war as the biggest…
Why is life so expensive? In our last newsletter, we discussed the importance of investing consistently from the very start of our careers to ensure a comfortable retirement. This time around, we look at why this is becoming increasingly difficult in South Africa. We also offer some handy tips on how to combat the uncomfortable…
