Planning Topics
By Feroza PetersenSOUTH Africa’s major banks, known as the “big four” – Standard Bank, Nedbank, Absa, and FirstRand – should come under more intense scrutiny for their perceived disregard of regulatory authorities and allegations of misconduct.These concerns have raised questions about transparency…
The fact that the Road Accident Fund (RAF) is running away is unacceptable. Incompetence – from the admin to the medical procedures – is to blame. The taxpayers are fed up.During the 2023/2024 Budget speech, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said: “Healthy public finances can help us build a…
For the free market to work optimally, consumers need to compare products on quality and value. This applies to any product, be it a grocery item or a financial product. But for the comparison to be meaningful, you need to compare apples with apples, and that’s not always so easy.The…
The world’s central banks understand that the future of money is digital. As payments shift online, the use of cash declines and the fortunes of crypto assets rise and fall, central bankers realise that their ability to command the use of money in their economies could weaken and that the financial…
Adopting an aggressive investment strategy in retirement seems counter-intuitive. New actuarial modelling showed, however, that most living annuity investors need to consider higher equity exposure along with lower draw-down rates to avoid running out of money.Applying a statistical process called…
By Feroza PetersenIN AN age where global powers vie for control of narratives, media freedom stands as a vital pillar of democracy and a testament to societal resilience.South Africa, a nation caught in the intricate dance of international influence, finds itself at a critical juncture in the fight…
By Feroza PetersenSOUTH Africa’s banking sector faces scrutiny for entrenched racial discrimination.Apartheid’s legacy left an enduring mark, with residential segregation, redlining, biased appraisals, and algorithms denying black South Africans equal access to capital.The result is a persistent…
By Feroza PetersenTHE Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa is currently scrutinizing the banking sector’s treatment of clients, with a focus on account closures, in response to concerns about transparency, fairness, and racism.This examination underscores the importance of the…
It's very easy to draw up a will and it's quite easy to make sure it's validly signed according to legal requirements. What is not so easy is to make sure it is practical.Actually, it is the wrong way round to start with the drafting of the will. A will is the end product of an estate plan that is…
Insurance beneficiaries and policyholders received R287.1 billion in claims and benefits from South African life insurers in the first half of this year, the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa) said yesterday.It said the payments would have reached these beneficiaries and…
By Thando Lamula SA tax authorities have been on their toes since the country was greylisted. It has been tightening and strengthening its laws in order to adhere to the FATF recommendations. On the flip side, this intervention has caused a stir in most industries, including the trusts…
At last month’s South African Institute of Taxation Tax Indaba, trusts were on the agenda again. And the South African Revenue Service (Sars) new measures of ensuring trusts are run as separate entities (such as companies) on a real-time basis and not on an ad hoc basis in an attempt to prove…
A South African Banking Consumer study, released recently by Accenture, revealed that four major developments in banking are driving the reinvention of the industry’s business and operating models: ubiquitous technology, interest rate spikes, new competition from non-banks and the imperative to…
By Sandile Gumede DOWN in the South of Johannesburg at a place called Savanna City, Thabo Horings is among scores of South Africans who have been hardest hit by inflation. Horings owns a three-bedroom house with a kitchen and a lounge – best suited for his family.The 31-year-old says that he bought…
By Sarmishta HaribhaiExclusivity, legacy, heritage, and wealth – these are just some of the hallmarks that make up the world of luxury investments. From designer luxury handbags, premium whisky, watches, art, and even sneakers, some may argue the luxury investment market has become an art in and of…
A former operator of the now defunct Johannesburg-based multimillion aircraft company has shared his own experience of what it is like to have his business run to the ground by banks who allegedly colluded to deceive him and destroy his legacy.Bret Lang accused five banks, Nedbank, Standard Bank,…
THIS October – “die mooiste, mooiste maand”, to borrow from an Afrikaans poem that loosely translated means “the most beautiful, beautiful month” – South Africa will host the BRICS Games 2023 as part of enhancing co-operation among members of the strategic bloc.It won’t be just about the games. It…
A BODY corporate has lost its court bid to prevent Eskom from disconnecting power supply to 350 families living in a housing complex in Madadeni, Newcastle, after failing to honour a payment arrangement for debt of more than R1 million.Five days after the disconnection, Meadowlands Estate Body…
THE Independent Media group has condemned Standard Bank’s “sickening hypocrisy” and “forked tongue” when it comes to the banks' observation of media freedom.This was after the bank apologised to the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) for an incident in which a Daily Maverick (DM)…
By Clive LazarThis is the fifth article in a series on planning for retirement, focusing on the different phases of the journey. Our first article looked at pre-retirement planning considerations, the second looked at navigating the transition phase of retirement, and the third explored the active…