A closer look at dividend-focused investing

High-yield equities can smooth volatility and generate reliable income, helping investors to balance growth and defence across bull and bear phases.

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Insurance Bill Update

The National Treasury presented its response to public comments received on the Insurance Bill, 2016, to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance in May. A copy of the Bill, as well as the presentation […]

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GTC Medical Aid Survey 2017

Results reveal that small medical aids also offer good value, and highlights that consumers may be unaware of their own medical aid plans and the benefits contained therein. Smaller medical schemes perform well […]

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Minister signs FIC Amendments

On 15 June 2017, the Minister of Finance announced the coming into operation of a number of provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act, 2017 (the FIC Amendment Act). There are two important dates […]

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R E and Qualifications Fraud

In a holding statement published on Thursday, 15 June, the Financial Planning Institute (FPI) responded as follows to a media release by the FSB: Falsification of Regulatory Examination Results and Issuance of Fraudulent Certificates […]

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Netwealth AdviceTech Research Report

A recent report, designed for the Australian advice industry and technology companies that support it, attempts to sketch the road ahead. As we appear to be heading down the same rocky road, we […]

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Reporting to the FSC Council

The Financial Sector Charter Council recently approached a number of people in the industry requesting that they register and submit their 2016 B-BBEE report. One reader actually submitted the form, together with his […]

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Compulsory Compliance Officer Information Update

The FAIS Registration department at the FSB sent letters to compliance officers and compliance practices in January requesting that all relevant details be updated. The response, according to the department, was extremely poor, […]

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Review Material Terms Regularly

We recently discussed two determinations made by the Ombud for Financial Services Providers in which she found that the respondents were lacking in their duty to provide clients with a reasonable explanation of […]

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CMS comment on Constitutional Court Judgement

The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has noted the Constitutional Court judgement on the appeal matter brought by Genesis Medical Scheme against the Registrar of Medical Schemes and the CMS. The Constitutional Court’s […]

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FIA Annual Award Winners

We would like to add our congratulations to the following providers who were voted tops in terms of product, relationship and service to the country’s financial advisors and insurance brokers. Short Term Insurer […]

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Hindsight and Objectivity

The recent Molate determination, in which Discovery Life was held liable for losses incurred after the death of a life assured, again raises the issue of objectivity with the benefit of hindsight. Background […]

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The Goldilocks Theory of Fintech

A recent article in Thinkadvisor, an American publication for financial advisors, discusses what I believe is a critical concern for us: When is enough too much, or too little? Below are some excerpts […]

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Extension of submission of Financial Statements

On Monday we reminded subscribers of the 30 June deadline for the submission of financial statements where their financial year ended on 28 February. Subsequently, we received a number of enquiries about applying for an […]

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Too many cooks

The phrase “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ear” was not uttered by Vincent van Gogh after the painful self-inflicted loss of his hearing appendage. A recent FAIS Ombud determination reminded me of […]

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Old Mutual Hacked

Last week was not a good one for the 172-year old Assurer. News of a rather embarrassing Ombud determination was followed by the news that unauthorised access was gained to some of its […]

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AON Opts for Suitebox

Global professional services firm Aon collaborated with global software provider SuiteBox to roll out its digital workspace technology to its Australian adviser network, to streamline their advice process and provide improved client experience. […]

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