B2B Central

Financial Planning

23 Mar 2015

Unreasonable delays can prejudice taxpayers

By Janice Roberts

There is an often quoted legal maxim that, “Justice delayed is justice denied”. In a recent judgment, Ackermans Limited v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service, the Gauteng High Court was asked to review and set aside a SARS decision to raise additional assessments. Ackermans’ main ground for review was that SARS had unreasonably...
23 Mar 2015

Tax relief cut will push UK pensioners to move funds offshore

By Janice Roberts

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced a further reduction to the lifetime allowance (LTA) for pension tax relief in his 2015 Budget. The amount individuals can save tax-free into pensions has been slashed from £1.25-million down to £1-million in order to pay for tax giveaways. This may be bad news for UK...
20 Mar 2015

Global emerging markets - an investor's approach

By Janice Roberts

Significant GDP growth is expected for a number of emerging markets over the coming 10 to 15 years, pointing to potentially stellar emerging market growth. This is according to Feroz Basa, Co-Head of Global Emerging Markets for Old Mutual Investment Group. He says that investors who avoid Global Emerging Markets due to their perceived risks...
20 Mar 2015

IRESS launches Smarthub

By Janice Roberts

IRESS, the leading supplier of financial markets, wealth and mortgage management systems, today announces the global launch of SmartHub. SmartHub is a trade messaging hub designed to connect financial market participants locally and across the globe, covering FIX and other trading communities. SmartHub, which launches globally at today’s EMEA FIX Trading Community conference in London,...
19 Mar 2015

Why you need financial advice

By Janice Roberts

By Sean Hanlon Executive Director at BrightRock Whether you’re getting married, divorced, become a parent, property owner, landed the job of your dreams or starting your dream business, life happens. With these changes, you’ll face varying degrees of financial responsibility. That’s why it’s important to keep tabs on your finances by seeking good, trustworthy financial...
18 Mar 2015

How Sustainable Is India’s Stellar Growth?

By Janice Roberts

By Sukumar Rajah, Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer Franklin Templeton Local Asset Management, Asian Equity India’s stellar market performance over the last 12 months has left many observers asking whether it is sustainable longer term. Sukumar Rajah, managing director and chief investment officer, Local Asset Management, Asian Equity, finds reasons to believe India’s star is...
18 Mar 2015

Quality school education costs between R1m and R7.7m for a new born

By Janice Roberts

Chris Pretorius, a wealth manager at AlphaWealth recently became a dad. He decided to work out what he needed to save so that his son gets the best education possible. He discovered that a top rate education in South Africa will cost between R1m and R7.7m depending on whether your child gets a quality government...
17 Mar 2015

'Treating Customers Fairly' no longer an option

By Janice Roberts

The financial services industry is one of the most progressive and modern in the world and is dedicated to meeting consumer demands in the most efficient and helpful manner as possible. There are a variety of regulatory bodies in South Africa to provide the framework for the financial services industry to operate. We have the...
17 Mar 2015

Retail Distribution Review (RDR) – Threat or opportunity?

By Janice Roberts

By David Kop, CFP® | Head: Advocacy and Consumer Affairs at the Financial Planning Institute (FPI) Is RDR a threat or an opportunity? The answer is both. I think that the threat of RDR has been spoken about and for this article I would like to focus on potential opportunities. Profession financial planners, for the...
12 Mar 2015

A head start in saving equals financial freedom

By Janice Roberts

Albert Einstein called compound interest the most powerful force in the universe. It’s easy to see how money can grow over time if you save consistently. Experts tell us we should save 15 to 20 percent of our salaries every month, but few people manage this and even if they do, they often spend accumulated...
12 Mar 2015

Top 5 steps to sustainably grow your wealth

By Janice Roberts

Middle and upper class South Africans are earning more than enough to afford comfortable lifestyles, but they need to come to terms with the trade-offs required to ensure that their lifestyles are sustainable well into a long retirement. Andrew Bradley, chief executive officer at Old Mutual Wealth (OMW), says despite the burgeoning growth in this...
11 Mar 2015

Do not take on more risk, investors in South Africa warned

By Janice Roberts

By Tom Elliott, deVere Group’s International Investment Strategist Now is not the time to take on more risk. Diversify your investments and sit still. That is the message that I gave in a series of briefings, presentations and media interviews during a recent tour of Johannesburg and Cape Town. It is my view that many...