Even though our clients often turn to highly-regarded specialists for help in estate planning, we regularly review wills that have overlooked some key issues. Many people also hold a range of misconceptions about estate planning. Here are 12 questions we frequently encounter when speaking to clients about their estate planning, which we think may have…
Retail investors’ interest in cryptocurrencies has again exploded over the past year, with Bitcoin’s rollercoaster ride during this period prompting many to ask what role digital currencies may play in the future. Some of our clients are curious about whether cryptos will one day evolve into a viable alternative to fiat currencies or to inflation-hedge…
Despite patches of volatility in the global markets, we have ended the second quarter on a high note for global equities. Yet there is a sense that we are reaching an important inflection point as the US economy continues to recover at a blistering pace, with a successful mass vaccination programme allowing for the rapid…
We have many clients in South Africa who are content with their lifestyle and have no plans to move abroad any time soon. They enjoy the weather, have close family ties in the country, and believe that they can sustain their way of life into retirement and beyond. The question that many of them ask…
Over the years, clients have sought advice about structured products, especially at times when the markets are in turmoil or when they are concerned about downside risk in equities markets. Such products, also known as structured notes, are vehicles that offer a guaranteed return on investment, within certain parameters. These products are generally packaged by…
One of the most misunderstood areas of taxation among higher net worth South African investors is the implications of holding a high-value portfolio of shares in an offshore jurisdiction. Many wealthy investors have sizeable global share portfolios with banks in Switzerland, the Channel Islands, and other parts of the world. They have established these relationships…
As we survey the markets for the third quarter of 2020, we need to look past the September pull-back to recall that July and August were both exceptionally strong months. Back then, the tech titans and trillions of dollars in stimulus programmes were powering stock markets to giddy heights, with the MSCI World Stocks Index…
We live in strange times with little visibility into what lies ahead for the markets in the months to come. Despite Covid-19 plunging every major economy in the world into a downturn for at least one quarter of the year, stock exchanges worldwide and especially in the US have enjoyed an extraordinary recovery, albeit with…
In the times of the ancients, rulers like Roman emperor Nero would ‘debase’ their sovereign currencies by adding lower value metals to gold and silver coins to increase the supply of money. Throughout history, this has seldom ended well because of the inevitable inflation in consumer prices that follows currency debasement. In today’s world of…
