September 11, 2017

The growth of index-tracking funds globally and in South Africa has been an encouraging development for the investment industry, but this does not mean investors should discard traditional actively managed funds. Clive Eggers, Head – Investment Analytics at leading wealth and financial advisory firm GTC, believes both styles have a critical role to play in the investment landscape. “Over the past decade, passive investments have become increasingly popular with local investors, to the extent that some are opting to remove active funds from their portfolios completely.  We do not encourage such drastic action,” he cautions.  “There is growing consensus in the professional investment world that a debate arguing the merits of ‘active versus passive’ investing is not constructive. We believe both styles offer valuable diversity within a portfolio.” Developed markets such as the US and UK have had access to... Read More

The National Treasury’s call on Parliament to extend the deadline on the proposed annuitisation of provident fund benefits by another year to 2019 is not ideal, but should this time be used to ensure proper communication with stakeholders, it may have a substantial and positive impact for millions of South Africans. This is the opinion of Celeste Kruger, Consultant: Employee Benefits at leading wealth and financial advisory firm GTC. National Treasury first introduced the regulation aimed at harmonising the tax treatment of provident and pension funds in 2015. “This is an attempt by the government to assist employees to retire more comfortably and handle their retirement savings responsibly, requiring them to invest two thirds of their retirement savings into retirement income products, such as an annuity, all the while retaining their option to withdraw a third as a cash lump... Read More