A Financial Plan should form the framework for your decision making.
Make sure your Plan is not fragmented and disjointed.
How do I know I’m in the right unit trust or share?
When choosing a unit trust, you are spoilt for choice. But how do you know you’ve picked the right one? In SA alone there are about 1,500 unit trusts, making the choice very hard.
Will I have enough liquidity on retirement?
We have witnessed may instances where our clients mistakenly believed that they had made sufficient provision for their retirement.
Tax and Estate Planning saving. How important is it?
Your total return is not just defined by your investment performance – it includes tax and estate savings achieved by blending the correct investment vehicles.
Ask yourself whether you’re paying unnecessary tax and estate costs?
Did your portfolio come about by default or design?
Think about your own portfolio…did it come about by default or design?
How would you rate your financial affairs out of ten?
Think about it for a moment: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your financial affairs?
Will my financial adviser provide assistance when I pass away?
We have helped many widows and widowers during these difficult times.
Our role in your financial affairs extends beyond your lifespan.
Does your Will align with your financial plan?
No one likes to think about their own death, which is why so many of us don’t revisit our Wills, or worse still, fail to have one. It‘s important to make sure that your financial plan and Will dovetail. If they don’t, it can lead to unintended consequences.
Are equities too risky for me?
If the requirement for the investment is short term (less than 3 years) then yes, including equities could be too risky. However…
Why not just keep my money in cash?
Think about the long-term opportunity cost lost when one invests in cash.
Is cash the safest place to invest?
Over the long-term, cash is your riskiest investment because unlike equities, after tax it will not out-perform inflation (the long-term investors true nemesis).
Can I give my assets to my children before I die?
Generally speaking, if you are satisfied that you have done a thorough needs analysis and you are confident that you won’t outlive your capital, then you could consider it.
Is having a Tax-Free Investment a good idea?
The benefit of compounded, tax free growth is best illustrated by Nic Andrew.
How often should I review my Will?
Your Will should be reviewed whenever a major change happens in your life, for example, birth of a child, death of a loved one, divorce.
Does it matter if my financial adviser is independent or not?
Think of it this way: How comfortable would you be if your doctor prescribed medication from a drug company that he owned or perhaps earned big commissions on, as opposed to prescribing the best medication out there for your needs?
Does my financial adviser need to be qualified?
Your retirement assets are one of the most important aspects of your life. Think about it, they dictate your and your family’s lifestyle going forward. Would you trust another professional who was not qualified?
Should I have more than one financial adviser?
Although there are many financial advisers in the industry, there are only a handful that have the unique skill set to engage in sophisticated high level planning that adds value across the spectrum of investments, tax and estate planning.
Will the current political scenario derail my retirement plan?
Have a good robust investment strategy in place and stick to it. Ignore the noise.
Will geo political and local events destroy my retirement plans?
If you want to be a successful investor, you must have a good robust investment strategy in place and stick to it.
What is financial pornography?
It’s a phrase used to describe sensational media coverage.
Who is looking at the big picture?
You don’t want to be unintentionally pulled in different directions by your accountant, your fiduciary attorney, your corporate attorney and your financial advisor.
How does one determine a realistic return?
The return has to be measured as a real return, which is a return after inflation.
What percentage of my portfolio should be invested offshore?
Firstly, get your investment strategy right.
Should you be investing offshore given where the rand currently sits against the dollar?
Currencies are unpredictable.
Although there are exceptions, generally, our view is that it doesn’t really matter where the rand is, it matters where your needs lie.
What does a Financial Adviser do for you?
Your financial adviser needs to be conversant in the Income Tax Act, the Estate Duty Act, the Wills Act, the Pensions Fund act…
Who is Stone Wealth Management?
We are a financial planning practice focused on the high net worth individual who has investable assets of R10 million or more.
What is the biggest destroyer of wealth?
Human emotion is without a doubt the biggest destroyer of wealth.
What should I do in times of market uncertainty?
Remember that human emotion is the biggest destroyer of wealth and in uncertain times, the best thing you can do, is nothing.
What should investors be doing right now during this crisis?
My advice to this group is to do absolutely nothing, simply stay the course.
Should I try and do it alone?
The decision around your retirement assets will be one of the biggest decisions you will ever have to make. So why would you want to do it alone?