American media mogul, Ted Turner, once said , ” Early to bed, early to rise, don’t forget to advertise.” Not surprising seeing that he makes a fortune from advertisers. But does advertising pay when it comes to the financial services industry and, more specifically, does it work for financial advisors? Advertising agencies will be quick [...]
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RSS feed for this sectionRegulatory Exams: Flavour of the Month
Regulatory exams are the latest buzz in the financial services industry. But what’s it all about and just who is affected by this piece of legislation asks Joe Kotze, National Manager: Compliance for the Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA)… Examination bodies: The Financial Services Board (FSB) has approved and appointed four examination bodies [...]
Regulatory Exams – Testing Times Ahead
Whilst many advisors breathed a large sigh of relief as they managed to accrue the necessary credits at the end of last year and wondered if there would be any further tests of knowledge forthcoming from the Financial Services Board. For some time there were rumours and whispers that a further set of examinations would [...]
Ensuring Compliance Independence
It is a fundamental principle of compliance practice that the compliance function should be sufficiently independent of the business activities to be able to discharge its responsibilities objectively. This includes being able to operate and communicate in an unhindered manner, says Julie Methven CEO of The Compliance Institute of South Africa. Segregating duties is one [...]
Compliance independence – avoiding conflicts of interest
The recently published Generally Accepted Compliance Practice Framework (GACPF) stresses that in order for the compliance function to be effective it must be independent of other business activities, so it can discharge its duties objectively, both to the company and to the relevant regulator. This can sometimes be difficult in practice, and avoiding conflicts of [...]
It’s not the thought that counts
When was the last time you had a good idea – one that really worked for you? On the other hand, have you been in a situation where you thought you had a good idea and it didn’t work out the way you expected? You may feel that you may not need new ideas to [...]
Financial Adviser Numbers Decline as Regulation and Recession Take Their Toll
But the emergence of younger blood should contribute to renewal in financial services The number of registered financial advisers active in the South African financial services industry has declined over the past year as intermediaries battle to deal with the challenges of more demanding regulation and the tough socio-economic environment. The number of financial advisers [...]
Does your ‘buy and sell’ agreement effectively ensure your business’ continuity?
Continuity is a key business risk faced by many independent financial planners. In essence, business continuity provides a sense of certainty and peace of mind around an unpredictable future event. For financial planners, succession planning is vital in ensuring business continuity and sustainability. However, according to a recent survey among local compliance officers, very few [...]
Tax Guide 2012
Latest Issue - 30 April 2012
In This Issue:
- Local and offshore ETFs
- Why stock selection is key
- Medical Survey - the cost of healthcare
- New player in life insurance market
Newsletters
Newsletter 17 May 2012: Lump sum versus debit order, 3 essentials for a confident investor
In today’s newsletter we look at investing with a lump sum or regular contributions – how do they stack up against each other? We also share three investment tips to cope with uncertainty. Being right about muddle-through hasn’t made investing any easier Most predicted that politically and often economically the year 2012 would be a [...]
