On 9th June 2011 top industry players braved the rain, sleet and snow to get to Johannesburg for the black-tie highlight of the year, the FIA Awards. Winners at this event are selected by FIA brokers themselves and reflect how the intermediary fraternity views major underwriters and product providers.
CATEGORY WINNERS
Short-Term Insurer of the Year: Personal Lines – HOLLARD
Short-Term Insurer of the Year: Commercial Lines – SANTAM
Short-Term Insurer of the Year: Corporate – SANTAM
Underwriting Manager of the Year – COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL ACCEPTANCES
Long-Term Insurer of the Year – Risk Product LIBERTY
Investment Product Supplier of the Year: Retail Investments – STANLIB
Long-Term Insurer of the Year: Recurring Savings – DISCOVERY LIFE
Employee Benefits Product supplier of the Year – SANLAM
Health Care Product Supplier of the Year – DISCOVERY HEALTH
Source: RISKSA
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
New investment rules for retirement funds
The third and final version of the new prudential investment regulations, which govern how your retirement savings may be invested, was published in February 2011.
Known as Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act, the primary aim of the regulations is to reduce the risk taken by a retirement fund when it invests your retirement savings by stipulating the maximum percentage of its assets that the fund may invest in an asset class (and sub-class).
For example, a fund may not invest more than 75 percent in equities, whether inside or outside South Africa, and there is a further limit measured by the value of a company. So a fund may own no more than 15 percent of a company that is worth R20 billion or more.
A secondary objective is to channel investments in a way that they support economic development and growth.
The regulations come into effect on July 1. Funds that are out of kilter with the regulations and cannot readjust their holdings by July 1 must apply for an extension before May 31.
Individual retirement fund contracts bought before April 1 this year will be exempt from the new provisions.
The regulations have been the subject of months of negotiations between National Treasury and the retirement fund industry. The industry pushed for the rules to be relaxed, whereas the treasury sought to update the regulations to cover the ever-developing world of investments while ensuring that members are protected.
A major focus has been the inclusion of the foreign investment exposure of retirement funds.
For example, the treasury has insisted that the regulations be applied at member level and not at fund level. Currently, many funds, particularly retirement annuity and preservation funds, apply the regulations only at fund level, allowing individual members to side-step the regulations so they can, for example, be invested fully offshore. This, in turn, may mean that other members are denied access to foreign investments.
Other changes in the final version include the easing of restrictions on debt to allow more investment in corporate debt issued by listed companies and regulated entities where the government does not provide a guarantee on the debt.
The limits on alternative investments, such as private equity funds and hedge funds, have also been eased.
February 27 2011 at 12:15pm
Source: IOL/Bruce Cameron
Source: IOL/Bruce Cameron
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The best performing Prudential Funds
Yesterday I did an analysis of the performances of prudential funds with data provided by Equinox. The best Prudential Funds over the last 5 years are:
Coronation Balanced Plus Fund 71.01%
Hermes Managed Fund (R) 69.48%
Allan Gray Balanced Fund 68.12%
Prudential Balanced Fund 59.26%
Coronation, Allan Gray and Prudential continue to top the ranking in this category.
Coronation Balanced Plus Fund 71.01%
Hermes Managed Fund (R) 69.48%
Allan Gray Balanced Fund 68.12%
Prudential Balanced Fund 59.26%
Coronation, Allan Gray and Prudential continue to top the ranking in this category.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Financial doctor can keep your family in good health
WHAT is the medical general practitioner's role, and why do we have our own "family doctor"?
In most cases there is a close relationship between the family doctor and the members of the family. It goes a lot deeper than just medical advice.
He (or she) has been involved in births, deaths, serious illnesses and very often psychological problems. He knows how to handle each member of the family, what their likes or dislikes, hobbies and professions are, and probably sees his aim as ensuring overall family health rather than diagnosis and treatment of specific ailments.
As much as we rely on these "members of the family" they are not specialists. They may be able to perform a minor operation, but they aren't surgeons. One of their key roles is to identify where specialist treatment is necessary. They are the key component of overall health protection - not the specialist.
As the GP is part of the family and the overall controller of physical health, so too should there be a family doctor for financial matters.
This "financial doctor" must have a solid basis in knowledge of all areas relating to the family's finances.
These would include issues such as risk and debt management, investment and retirement planning, tax structuring and estate planning as well as fund manager selection. This financial doctor should also have six to seven years of training and be able to show (as a medical GP can do) he has a solid grounding in these areas.
He should also be able to call on the specialists, such as the fund managers, the tax advisers, and estate administrators, when required.
Confusion often exists over the roles of financial adviser and fund manager. It's really quite simple. If you went to a fund manager (whose skill should be in share selection) and presented him with your entire financial scenario, he would not have the expertise to produce an overall plan. Just the same as going to a surgeon to ask about a torn muscle will probably also be a waste of time.
A good financial adviser should be as close and as important to your family as a good family doctor. The real problem is that it is much more difficult to select a financial doctor as there are no minimum standards.
How do you know whether the financial adviser is a "financial doctor" or simply a retreaded insurance salesman? You need to spend time scrutinising the infrastructural support, the way his business is being run, qualifications, and most importantly, how he will make money out of you. This will tell you whether he is interested in your long-term health, or merely going to perform some surgery to separate you from your money.
Source: http://www.btimes.co.za/98/0705/btmoney/money10.htm
In most cases there is a close relationship between the family doctor and the members of the family. It goes a lot deeper than just medical advice.
He (or she) has been involved in births, deaths, serious illnesses and very often psychological problems. He knows how to handle each member of the family, what their likes or dislikes, hobbies and professions are, and probably sees his aim as ensuring overall family health rather than diagnosis and treatment of specific ailments.
As much as we rely on these "members of the family" they are not specialists. They may be able to perform a minor operation, but they aren't surgeons. One of their key roles is to identify where specialist treatment is necessary. They are the key component of overall health protection - not the specialist.
As the GP is part of the family and the overall controller of physical health, so too should there be a family doctor for financial matters.
This "financial doctor" must have a solid basis in knowledge of all areas relating to the family's finances.
These would include issues such as risk and debt management, investment and retirement planning, tax structuring and estate planning as well as fund manager selection. This financial doctor should also have six to seven years of training and be able to show (as a medical GP can do) he has a solid grounding in these areas.
He should also be able to call on the specialists, such as the fund managers, the tax advisers, and estate administrators, when required.
Confusion often exists over the roles of financial adviser and fund manager. It's really quite simple. If you went to a fund manager (whose skill should be in share selection) and presented him with your entire financial scenario, he would not have the expertise to produce an overall plan. Just the same as going to a surgeon to ask about a torn muscle will probably also be a waste of time.
A good financial adviser should be as close and as important to your family as a good family doctor. The real problem is that it is much more difficult to select a financial doctor as there are no minimum standards.
How do you know whether the financial adviser is a "financial doctor" or simply a retreaded insurance salesman? You need to spend time scrutinising the infrastructural support, the way his business is being run, qualifications, and most importantly, how he will make money out of you. This will tell you whether he is interested in your long-term health, or merely going to perform some surgery to separate you from your money.
Source: http://www.btimes.co.za/98/0705/btmoney/money10.htm
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