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Benchtest Newsletter
Issued December 2022
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In this newsletter
Benchtest 11.2022 – end-of-year message to RFS stakeholder, the FIMA goes back to parliament, and more...
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Jump to...
Important notes & reminders
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NAMFISA levies
- Funds with November 2022 year-ends must submit their 2nd levy returns and payments by 23 December 2022;
- Funds with May 2023 year-ends must submit their 1st levy returns and payments by 23 December 2022;
- and funds with December 2021 year-ends must submit their final levy returns and payments by 30 December 2022.
RFS office closure
RFS and Benchmark offices will be closing at midday on Wednesday 21 December and will open again on Wednesday 4 January 2023.
FIMA to be referred back to parliament
Following the 7th congress of the SWAPO party, delegates resolved “That the SWAPO Party directs government to put on hold the FIMA bill and related regulations because in its current form it will negatively affect the image of the Party. It must be referred back to Parliament for further consultations," it says in a document containing all resolutions.
Repo rate up by another 0.5%
Bank of Namibia announced an increase in the repo rate from6.25% to 6.75% on 30 November. Accordingly the interest on direct fund housing loans will increase to 10.75% from 1 December. |
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Registered service providers
Certain pension fund service providers must register with NAMFISA and report to NAMFISA. Download a list of service providers registered as of June 2022, here...
Retirement calculator
Use our web-based retirement and risk shortfall calculator for your personal retirement planning. Find it here...
If you need help with your financial planning, get in touch with
- Annemarie Nel (tel 061-446 073)
- Kristof Lerch (tel 061-446 042)
- Christina Linge (061-446 6075)
Toolbox for trustees
RFS provides comprehensive support for trustees. Find a list of download documents to assist with governance and management of private funds, registered as of June 2022, here...
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Newsletter
In this newsletter, we address the following topics:
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In 'A note from the MD', Marthinuz Fabianus gives an end-of-year message to RFS stakeholders
In 'Tilman Friedrich's industry forum' we present...
- Monthly review of portfolio performance – 30 November 2022
- A decade of roller coaster markets
- The FIMA is to be referred back to parliament
- Tax-free gratuity and retirement funds
- Implications of SA staff participating in a Namibian fund
In Compliments, read...
- A compliment from a consultant
In 'News from RFS', read about...
- An impression from RFS year-end function
- Staff improving their competencies
In 'News from NAMFISA', read about...
- Notes of the last industry meeting
FIMA standards and regulations consultation status
- Changes to ERS and Chart of Accounts
- FIMA standards and regulations consultation status
- New rules template under the FIMA
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In 'Legal snippets,' read about...
- Fund not entitled to withhold benefit when no legal proceedings pending
In 'Snippets for the pension funds industry,' read about...
- Enjoy life to the fullest…but have a plan
- The ‘free lunch’ approach to investing
In ‘Snippets of general interest', read about...
- Managing your money in your marriage
- Estate planning – what to consider when structuring the legal ownership of your assets
And make a point of reading what our clients say about us in the ‘Compliments’ section. It should give you a good appreciation of who and what we are!
As always, your comment is welcome, so open a new mail and drop us a note!
Regards
Tilman Friedrich
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 Marthinuz Fabianus
A note from the Managing Director
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End-of-year message to RFS stakeholders
Dear RFS stakeholders,
We have come to the end of another gruelling year and with that an opportunity to take stock of the year. Each year presents challenges, opportunities and offers valuable lessons for experience and successes. This year around, I would like to congratulate and dedicate the year to the support of our team. Just like our most important stakeholder, the RFS client, our team is our most prized asset, without which we will not have any successes to celebrate and appreciate. I am filled with a lot of pride and gratitude for the exceptional team that we have been blessed with.
I want to pay tribute to our different teams that have impacted positively on our services to clients either in direct or indirect ways. Not in any order, I would first like to mention our support team under the leadership of Louis Theron. Louis and his team are, amongst others, responsible for our IT infrastructure. Like the body’s central nervous system, our IT assimilates information from the different parts across the entire organisation in a seamless manner. Except for the normal glitches here and there, we have not experienced any major downtime lasting more than 2 hours this entire year. We have achieved an enviable cyber security maturity level for our type and size of business and our dynamic IT strategy is active work in progress. One more highlight, was the upgrading of our boardroom, which allows us to better interact digitally using state-of-the-art technology. I thank Louis and his exceptional team and already look forward to the successful installation of our new PABX telephone system that the team is currently busy with.
Our client service team is under the leadership of Sharika Skoppelitus. This team sits at the coal face, interacting directly with clients and other external stakeholders. The team had to deal with some capacity issues due to staff movements, and one of the members has been off sick. However, the remaining members showed what teamwork is about, as both Amanda O’Callaghan and Rauha Hangalo stepped in without any of our clients feeling neglected. The client service team and our marketing consultant successfully hosted our clients and stakeholders for our client function, where we announced the change of our name. Thank you, Sharika and the client service team.
Our private funds team under the able leadership of Kai Friedrich also deserves mention. This team has demonstrated that they truly understand the concept of “client is king”. Without our clients, we do not have a business. The team had to deal with several staff changes over the past months, but the willingness of the team members to jump in and carry a heavier load until relief comes has been nothing short of exceptional. The continuous improvements to our processes and reports have been a breath of fresh air. The team is now working hard to successfully integrate the MTC Pension Fund from 01 December 2022 and is known to do that in the shortest possible time.
Our exceptional Benchmark Retirement Fund team under Gunter Pfeifer’s leadership also deserves mention. The team continues to successfully manage one of the most complexly structured funds. The fund continues to grow in leaps and bounds in its different parts. Our retail team, under Annemarie Nel’s leadership, has been assisting our retail clients with dedication, with our survivor annuity product assisting a tremendous number of minor beneficiaries. The Benchmark accounting team completed a challenging audit, having rotated to a new auditing company that made sure not to leave any stone unturned. Gunter has done a tremendous job of juggling different roles but still managed to successfully induct and orientate our new Benchmark Principal Officer.
Last but certainly not least, the private funds’ accounting team under Carmen Diehl’s leadership also deserves mention. The team has come full circle in complementing the client service team in the interface with our clients. The joint pitches with external auditors, where our staff take on a leading role, most certainly enhance our reputation as having a formidable team. It truly differentiates us from our competition and gives credibility to our practice of developing expertise and adding value to our client relationships.
In retrospect, the year has not been without challenges. NAMFISA has thrown the pension fund industry into disarray, and we still need to find a way to operate as practitioners in the industry amid crippling hindrances from NAMFISA. We have experienced an unusually higher number of resignations in the last part of the year. Though staff turnover was still very low going by our industry or any relevant comparison, it is not our nature to simply accept this as fact. As with our clients, we believe in forging a long-term relationship with our staff, and not one which is dictated by short-term gratification. Short-term interests have hindered the success of a lot of individuals and businesses alike. We are looking forward to a group of new blood that will join us from February 2023 to fill lost capacity.
We recognise that the economic problems of high inflation in basic basket items like food and transport and high interest rates have made living expenses very difficult. However, this is not the time to make panic decisions. Like with every condition in life, this, too, is not permanent. As reported in the Namibian of 07 October 2022 this year, “Namibia’s economy is on track for growth”. This can already be seen with high economic activities, especially in the retail and tourism sectors.
Joe Wilson, the founder of Xerox said, “the customers determine whether we have a job or whether we do not, and their attitude determines our success”. We keep this in mind as we forge long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with our clients and external parties.
We will need each one of our staff to build on their best as we go into another year. Before that, we wish our staff and esteemed clients, and other stakeholders to take a well-deserved rest with the holiday season upon us.
I pray that you will keep safe and out of harm’s way during this eventful period, and look forward to seeing you and interacting with you in the coming year.
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 Tilman Friedrich's industry forum
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Monthly Review of Portfolio Performance
to 30 November2022
In November 2022, the average prudential balanced portfolio returned 3.0% (October 2022: 4.4%). The top performer is Ninety-One Managed Fund with 4.2%, while Hangala Prescient Absolute Balanced Fund with 1.0% takes the bottom spot. For the 3-months Ninety-One Managed Fund takes the top spot, outperforming the 'average' by roughly 1.9%. Hangala Prescient Absolute Balanced Fund underperformed the 'average' by 3.4% on the other end of the scale. Note that these returns are before (gross of) asset management fees. The Monthly Review of Portfolio Performance to 30 November 2022 provides a full review of portfolio performances and other insightful analyses. Download it here...
A decade of roller coaster markets
I listened to a very interesting interview with Felix Zulauf by Ed D’Agostino of Mauldin Economic on 9 December 2022. Felix Zulauf was the global strategist for UBS Bank and was the head of its institutional portfolio management group. He founded Zulauf Asset Management and manages Zulauf Consulting, where he consults to some of the world’s largest and most influential institutional investors.
Because the views of Felix Zulauf mirror my views of financial markets and how they will be impacted by global political developments, I will focus on this interview in this column. He, of course, has a much deeper insight and understanding of the subject and throws some light on questions I could not answer for myself…
Zulauf expects a mild recession in the US and very serious recessions in Europe, the UK, and the worst in China. The US recession will not be as severe as that in Europe and the UK as the US is virtually energy independent, unlike the others. The lockdowns are suspected to be a camouflage of China’s recession. As a result, China will not be the locomotive for the world economy as it was for the past 15 years. However, even under these circumstances, there will be individual companies doing well, such as defence contractors and energy companies.
For the investor, the essence of the economic environment is that we will go through a decade of roller coaster markets, with ups and downs like probably a whole generation has never experienced before. Under these circumstances, a passive strategy will produce disappointing returns, and one may even lose in real terms. The investor must make important decisions on buying and holding for a certain period and to sell to be liquid and preserve capital for buying again later on or going short on a declining market. The Monthly Review of Portfolio Performance to 30 November 2022 also reflects the editor’s views on current developments and their impact on investment markets. Download it here...
The FIMA is to be referred back to parliament
It was reported from the recent SWAPO congress that the FIMA must be referred to parliament. While the FIMA has many positive elements, it also has many harmful components. Judging by the short period it took to pass parliament, and the few questions asked, I must conclude that the parliament was overwhelmed by the FIMA’s size and complexity. As a result, it is unlikely that the negative components of FIMA were appropriately considered and evaluated by parliament and will still haunt the parliament and those responsible for regulating, implementing, and complying with this law. In many earlier newsletters, I have listed numerous principles that I believe were not considered by parliament. I support the law being reconsidered by parliament. Still, this will only be purposeful if parliament devises a special framework for considering such complex, expansive and incisive laws. As things stand, Namibia is not ready for this law and its economic costs are likely to exceed the economic benefits by far.
Tax-free gratuity and retirement funds
Section 16(1)(o) of the Income Tax Act exempts certain gratuity payments up to N$ 300,000. Employers are sometimes under the impression that the exemption of N$ 300,000 applies to a taxable retirement fund benefit.
This exemption applies to a termination gratuity paid by an employer, under certain circumstances. There is no relief for any retirement fund benefit other than one-third of a retirement benefit paid in terms of the fund’s rules.
The gratuity payment must be made under the employee’s employment contract because of the employee’s infirmity, ill-health, old age, personnel reduction, or having ceased trade, and the person must be 55 or older. It cannot derive from commuting other employer’s contractual obligations to a termination gratuity.
The employer must obtain a directive if the gratuity complies with the requirements in section 16(1)(o) and exceeds N$ 10,000. I am not aware of any prescriptions concerning the format of the request for a tax directive and suggest that it can be a formal letter with the following information:
- Taxpayer name and initials
- Taxpayer TIN
- Amount of gratuity
- Detail of the paragraph in the employment contract obliging the employer to pay the gratuity, and if the employer had any discretion, on what basis it exercised this discretion.
Implications of SA staff participating in a Namibian fund
Namibian employers often overlook the implications of starting up a branch or a subsidiary in SA as far as pension fund membership of the SA staff is concerned. Generally, it is not a good idea to have SA employees be members of the Namibian fund, primarily because they could be subject to both SA and Namibian income tax on any benefit payable.
In as much as the Namibian Pension Funds Act prohibits any person to undertake pension fund business in Namibia that is not registered in terms of the Pension Funds Act, the same principles apply in SA and employers who allow their SA employees to participate in their Namibian fund without registering the Namibian fund in SA as a foreign fund are contravening the SA Pension Funds Act and expose themselves to statutory sanctions.
Members of a Namibian pension fund who are employed by an SA entity would not be allowed to deduct their contributions to a Namibian fund. Of course, SA revenue authorities may not always realize that these contributions were made to a Namibian fund and may have erroneously allowed these to be deducted. SARS may at any time it becomes aware of this error, re-open previous tax assessments, disallow such contributions with arrears effect, and may go as far as adding penalties and interest. The same would apply in Namibia.
Where any benefit becomes payable to any of the SA members, it would be taxable both in SA and in Namibia in the first instance.
The Double Taxation Agreement between SA and Namibia would avoid double taxation only concerning a pension payable and the one-third pension commutation. SA legislation provides for a deduction from a taxable benefit, any contributions made that were not tax deductible or were never deducted for tax purposes in SA. This allowance would not apply to these members where the contributions were indeed deducted for tax purposes in SA. The Namibian Income Tax Act does not have a similar provision as the result of which any taxable benefit would be fully taxed in Namibia, whether or not the member concerned ever deducted any contributions to the fund for Namibian tax purposes.
If the fund credit of the SA members were to be transferred from the Namibian Fund to any other fund approved for tax purposes in Namibia at the instance of the member, such transfer would not be taxed in Namibia based on the concession granted in terms of section 16(1)(z) of the Namibian Act. Such transfer, however, would, in the first instance, be taxable in SA, as a benefit has accrued to the member and as SA taxpayers are taxed on the basis of residence rather than source, as is the case in Namibia.
The fund credit of the member could also be transferred to an SA pension fund approved for tax purposes in SA, or to another person such as an SA insurance company, at the instance of the Namibian fund, by means of a 'section 14 transfer'.
In terms of the general principles of the Namibian Income Tax Act, such transfer should not be taxable in Namibia in the hands of the member as no benefit has accrued to the member. By the same principles, the Namibian tax authority could argue that an income accrues to the SA person from a Namibian source and that the amount is subject to income tax in Namibia. In the instances where such transfers have been affected by us in the past, however, Inland Revenue has never issued a directive to deduct tax. Where neither the members concerned nor their employer ever had the benefit of deducting their contributions for income tax purposes in Namibia, our tax authority should also find it difficult to argue that the amount to be transferred should be taxed in Namibia.
Where an employer intends to transfer the SA members of the Namibian fund to SA, the employer and the members concerned need to settle the arrangement concerning the disposal of the members' fund credit in the Namibian fund either, by transfer to an insurance policy in SA, or by transfer to an approved pension fund in SA, or by payment in the form of a cash benefit subject to income tax in Namibia. If the benefit is N$ 40,000 or less, the provisional tax rate will be 18% and will be applied by the administrator without being required to obtain a tax directive.
If the benefit is larger than N$ 40,000, Inland Revenue should theoretically also issue a tax directive applying a provisional rate of 18%, since these members were never registered for tax purposes in Namibia. To avoid unnecessary delays in obtaining a tax directive in Namibia, the employer should issue a letter to Inland Revenue confirming that these members were never registered for tax purposes in Namibia as these members never earned any taxable income in Namibia. This letter should then be submitted together with the request for a tax directive to Inland Revenue. The benefit should be reflected by these members on their SA tax returns and will then be subject to SA income tax as well, to the extent that they are not covered by the Double Taxation Agreement between SA and Namibia.
Tilman Friedrich is a chartered accountant and a Namibian Certified Financial Planner® practitioner, specialising in the pensions field. He is co-founder, shareholder, and Chairman of the RFS Board and retired chairperson, and now a trustee of the Benchmark Retirement Fund.
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 Compliment
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Compliment from a principal officer
Dated 9 December 2022
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“More,Baie dankie J…, jy bly maar net my STER en baie dankie vir weereens ‘n goeie werksverhouding deur hierdie jaar.
Jy is voorwaar van onskatbare waarde vir ons vonds, baie baie dankie vir jou puik diens….
Mooi dag!” |
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Read more comments from our clients here...
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Benchmark: a note from Günter Pfeifer
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Important circulars issued by the Fund
The Benchmark Retirement Fund did not issue any circulars since circular 202207 on changes to the Benchmark Default Portfolio. Clients are welcome to contact us if they require a copy of any circular.
Günter Pfeifer was the Principal Officer and a trustee of the Benchmark Retirement Fund for many years. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Cum Laude). Günter completed his articles with Deloitte & Touche in Windhoek. He completed the De Beers ‘Program For Management Development’ at Gordon Institute for Business Science, and the Advanced Development Program at the London Business School. He was formerly Financial Manager of De Beers Marine.
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News from RFS
 News from NAMFISA
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Notes of the last industry meeting
The last pension funds industry meeting was held on 24 November. NAMFISA’s presentation is quite comprehensive. You can download the NAMFISA presentation, here...
Here are a few notes of our key take aways:
- It seems it is NAMFISA’s intention to enforce annuitisation of retirement benefits under the FIMA.
- NAMFISA intends to give notice of the implementation of FIMA at least 6 months before the FIMA effective date. The final subordinate legislation will be issued on the notice date.
- Written feedback on comments on FIMA subordinate legislation will be published on the NAMFISA website in due course (see next topic).
- Incomplete/ inaccurate COA submissions will be returned for resubmission, and funds will accordingly be penalised for resubmissions. Incomplete membership data seems to be the main concern.
- NAMFISA proposes block periods during which rule amendments (other than fund registrations and rule consolidations) are to be submitted and assessed. The industry is invited to comment on this proposal by 31 December 2022.
FIMA standards and regulations consultation status
NAMFISA issued a public notice on 25 November 2022, providing feedback on public comments on the formal consultation process of the standards and regulations of the Financial Institutions and Markets Act 2021.
- All the representations/comments from the industry and corresponding considerations are comprehensively charted as per the chapters of the FIMA for ease of reference.
- Responses on how the representations/comments were addressed are now available on the NAMFISA website: https://www.namfisa.com.na/legislative-instruments/
- NAMFISA has uploaded the updated Regulations and Standards on the website. The industry is requested to familiarize itself with the final versions of the subordinate legislation, available on the website: https://www.namfisa.com.na/legislative-instruments/
Changes to ERS and Chart of Accounts
NAMFISA made some improvements and changes to ERS and the Chart of Accounts that are effective from 31 December 2022.
- Inspection notices will in future be issue via the ERS;
- The reference to regulation 28 in the exemption form was changed to regulation 13.
- COA-PF Section 13 A: the exclusion of SOE’s was removed.
- COA non-financial information: the ageing of contributions receivable must in future also reflect the number of members to which it relates.
- COA non-financial information: the number of members who exited the fund due to disability must in the future be reflected.
- COA quarterly return: it must separately reflect benefits paid to dismissed members and to retrenched members.
- COA quarterly return, additional financial information: for unlisted investments, the total must be reflected per SPV.
New rules template under the FIMA
After NAMFISA’s invitation to the industry to comment on its draft rules template and the submission of comments by the industry, NAMFISA issued a revised template for the drafting of rules. NAMFISA invites further input from the industry until such time the FIM Act and subordinate legislation are settled.
Find the rules template here…
Find NAMFISA’s response to industry comments on the template here…
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 Legal snippets
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Fund not entitled to withhold benefit when no legal proceedings pending
If an employee commits theft, fraud, dishonesty or misconduct against their employer then section 37D(1)(b)(ii) of the Pension Funds Act has been interpreted by the SA Supreme Court of Appeal to mean that a pension benefit may be withheld by a pension fund at the request of an employer if the employer is pursuing legal proceedings against the member for theft, fraud, dishonesty or misconduct. Once the employer has obtained judgment against the member for theft, fraud, dishonesty or misconduct, it can instruct the pension fund to deduct any amount granted in its favour from the member's pension benefit.
In this matter, the member exited the service of the employer in 2014. The employer requested the fund to withhold the pension benefit pending the outcome of criminal proceedings against the member for theft/ fraud. The member lodged a complaint with the Adjudicator in 2014 and the complaint was dismissed in early 2015 because the Adjudicator held that the fund was entitled to withhold the benefit.
In 2019, the member obtained confirmation from the Pretoria Magistrates Court that the criminal charges against her were withdrawn. She lodged another complaint with the Adjudicator in August 2019, requiring payment of her pension benefit.
In response to the complaint, the fund submitted that the charges were only provisionally withdrawn pending further investigations by the SAPS.
It was held that the period allowed for the institution or conclusion of legal proceedings must be reasonable. Four years and eight months lapsed since the previous complaint was dismissed before the current complaint was lodged. As at 24 July 2020, the criminal charges remained provisionally withdrawn. It was held that an unreasonable amount of time had lapsed for the criminal proceedings against the member to be finalised. After five years, and even with the assistance of the employer’s forensics department, the NPA was still not satisfied that it had sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of prosecution against the member.
It was further held that a decision to withdraw a criminal charge is not taken lightly by the NPA.
There have to be compelling reasons to do so. Once a decision to withdraw a criminal charge has been made that decision is final. Prosecution may only be recommenced in very specific circumstances. The fund owed the member a fiduciary duty and it ought to have interrogated the reasons why the charges were withdrawn. Instead, the fund too readily accepted the explanation given to it by the employer without the fund investigating the circumstances for itself. In this regard, the fund failed to uphold its fiduciary duty. In the circumstances, the complaint was upheld and the fund ordered to pay the complainant’s withdrawal benefit together with interest.
Reported in the SA Adjudicator’s annual report 2018 – 2019.
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Snippets for the pension fund industry
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Enjoy life after 75 to the fullest…but have a plan
Does my economic life change at the age of 75? Should I consider significantly increasing my expenditure on travel or tick off my bucket list items up until then?
This was the thread of a conversation we recently had with a client. The client had thought through the issue in depth and felt that travel and the number of activities they could partake in would reduce at that age and, as a result, their annual expenses would drop dramatically…
Our first response was that in our experience from observing our client base, the suggested age of 75 years was a bit early for activities to start slowing down or ceasing. Although everyone is different, we think that 75 is a bit premature to think that your costs will drop. Somewhere in your mid-80s would perhaps be a safer reference point.
We have noticed that at around this age, peoples’ lives start to get a bit simpler and that some of the activities they took part in and enjoyed previously are no longer possible. As a result, their rate of spending reduces…
Why do lifestyle expenses slow down in your mid 80s?
A number of changes take place at this stage of a person’s life. Here are a few of the key things:
- As you get older, traveling becomes more difficult and strenuous…
- The cost of medical travel insurance also prohibits elderly clients from travelling.
- Expenditure on vehicles drops considerably…
- People may move into retirement villages. The household running costs then drop for many clients...
- People socialise less…
It is important to live life to the fullest while you still can. You have no idea if/when a health event could change your day-to-day life…
Financial questions to consider...
There are a number of financial questions we should ask ourselves, before making a decision as to whether or not we should spend our money or save it.
These include…”
Read the complete article by Rick Briers-Danks or Veritas Wealth in Moneyweb 29 November 2022 here…
The ‘free lunch’ approach to investing
“There have been just three occasions since 1929 when bonds and equities went down together: 1931, when Britain abandoned the gold standard; 1941, when the US entered World War II; and 1969, as a result of rising inflation, energy supply disruptions and fiscal stimulus – much like the conditions that are now in play.
Current market conditions are so rare, Laurium Capital portfolio manager Brian Thomas believes we are likely seeing history in the making.
When it comes to diversification, South Africans have in effect eight asset classes available to them: bonds, equities, property and cash in SA, and the same four classes offshore.
Thomas explains that those with too much invested offshore can end up with considerable portfolio weakness when the rand strengthens – as has happened in recent weeks.
We look at the effect of the rand moving in both directions, and hedge for rand strength to ensure there is not too much volatility in funds where we target lower levels of volatility such as the Laurium Stable Prescient Fund, he adds.
The Laurium Capital house view is to remain underweight foreign equities, at-weight SA equities and foreign fixed income, and overweight SA fixed income...”
Read the article by Ciaran Ryan of Laurium Capital in Moneyweb of 5 December 2022 here…
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Snippets of general interest
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Managing your money in your marriage
“Marriage is very seldom plain sailing, and successfully navigating finances together can be incredibly difficult. In fact, money problems are often what trip a couple up and cause the most amount of friction in a relationship. While every marriage is different, there are steps couples can take to increase their chances of managing their money effectively.
In this article, we explore several financial fundamentals for married couples to consider:
- Commit to honesty and transparency
- Set boundaries
- Provide for each other financially
- Structure your banking
- Allocate roles and responsibilities
- Make decisions together
- Plan for emergencies
- Structure your estates
- Have a will
- Keep your financial affairs private
- Save for the future.”
Read the full article by Devon Card of Crue Investments in Moneyweb of 7 December 2022 here…
Estate planning – what to consider when structuring the legal ownership of your assets
“How you choose to structure legal ownership of your South African and international assets can accelerate or slow the distribution of assets on your death. Just as important, different legal structures attract different tax rates and levels of asset protection.
Neglecting the issue of choosing an appropriate legal structure can be one of the costliest decisions any investor can make.
Nedbank Private Wealth has summarised the various options in a guide that narrows the focus down to five potential legal structures, below.
These options for South African assets are:
- Sole name: owning assets in your own name
- Co-ownership of assets with one or more individuals
- Trust: placing assets in a trust
- Company: owning shares in a company in your personal capacity
- Trust and company: the trust owns shares in the company.
The key factors to consider in choosing an appropriate legal ownership option are:
- Continuity: The extent to which significant events such as incapacity, sequestration or death can disrupt the management of, or access to, your assets.
- Effective distribution of your assets after death: Assets in the estate may be frozen for some time before being distributed to beneficiaries. There are also costs involved in winding up the estate.
- Protection of dependants: The extent to which minors or those with disabilities are financially protected, and the degree to which education planning and intergenerational wealth transfer is enabled or supported.
- Protection of assets from seizure: The type of legal structure selected affects the ability of government, creditors and others to seize assets.
- Flexibility: Different legal structures limit or enhance the ability to accommodate changes in circumstances, regulations or best practices over time.
- Tax cost and administration implications: The applicable tax rates and associated tax risks that apply, and the tax administration requirements and responsibilities that stem from the assets you own…”
Read the full article by Ciaran Ryan in Moneyweb of 21 November 2022, here...
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 And finally...
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Great quotes have an incredible ability
to put things in perspective.
"Great things are done by a series of small things put together." ~ Vincent van Gogh
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Disclaimer
Whilst we have taken all reasonable measures to ensure that the results reflected herein are correct, Benchmark Retirement Fund and RFS Namibia (Pty) Ltd do not accept any liability for the accuracy of the information and no decision should be taken on the basis of the information contained herein before confirming the detail with the relevant portfolio manager.
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