It should be noted first off that Living Annuities are soon to be renamed Retirement Income Drawdown Accounts for those who have not heard the term in the Industry just yet. When you retire and you receive your proceeds from your pension fund, you are obliged to purchase an annuity. Your pension fund...

By all indications from the reserve bank and analysts in South Africa we are nearing the end of the low interest rate cycle and can expect to see interest rates increase late 2011 or early 2012 and if you have been paying attention to profiting in low interest environments, you will be well prepared...

The allocation of funds to ones beneficiaries varies between the different types of funds and while some attract Estate duties, others do not. In some cases even your last will and testament can be over ridden by trustees of certain types of funds with the emphasis being on the needs of dependents. Unit...

For the vast majority of South African’s the chances of retiring financially free are as good as their chances of winning the lottery unless they take control of their own financial future ans start saving today. These may sound like harsh words but the fact is that with a savings rate at less...

Realcor also known as Purple Rain Properties No. 15 has had their financial service provider license suspended yet it was reported in the Saturday Star that they continue to trade. This is yet another case of a company that sells unlisted shares with the value in property syndication schemes. We have...

In recent months the financial services ombud has received a lot of coverage for the work they do in protecting the rights of investors who have been mislead by financial advisors and in particular cases that involve unlisted shares. The promise of huge returns when a company lists on the stock exchange...

Empty nest syndrome is a very real condition that we often try to justify by having conversations with ourselves about the ability of our children to cope on their own when in fact we are terrified that our World, which has revolved around our children for so many years, will collapse around us. The...

The overwhelming message at the Asisa convention was that retirement savings are for retirement and the ability to withdraw money earmarked for retirement early is going to be made more difficult in the coming months through legislation. Provident funds are to be retired so to speak and the ability of...

The stripping of surplus funds from a number of South Africa’s pension funds in the 1990′s started a storm that has taken up until now to sort out and has seen high profile businessmen receive suspended sentences and fines for their part in the surplus fund stripping. Members of the following...

The Earthquake in Japan has had a significant negative effect on world markets with the NIKKEI losing as much as 14% yetserday. The reality is that Japan is the Worlds third largest economy and a disaster of this magnitude will have spill over effects on the Worlds stock markets from New York to South...