Money Matters

July 2025

We live in an age of relentless information, headlines, opinions, and predictions, often conflicting and rarely clear.

For discerning investors and trustees alike, the challenge isn’t staying informed; it’s cutting through the noise to focus on what truly matters: long-term fundamentals, sound governance, and clear accountability.

We begin with a closer look at South Africa’s informal economy. Stats SA estimates that approximately 8% of economic activity (informal sector) is not captured in official GDP statistics (some experts believe the true figure may be even higher). That’s significant, as it would make the informal sector larger than the entire mining industry. While much of this activity is indirectly reflected through spending and supply chains, the gap still matters, particularly when interpreting employment data or shaping policy. A clearer view of the informal sector could support more effective economic and social planning.

Next, a must-read for every Trustee, our second article explores how recent legislative changes have significantly raised the bar for trust compliance. What once felt like routine paperwork now carries real consequences, including imprisonment for administrative oversights. If you’re a trustee, this is essential reading.

At Stone Wealth Management, we help you tune out the noise to stay calm, informed, and on course by identifying the signals that matter most for your wealth, family, and future.

The outgoing Capitec CEO, Gerrie Fourie, generated quite a debate on measuring the informal sector and unemployment in South Africa.

I paid a visit to Joe de Beer, Deputy Director-General responsible for economic statistics at Stats SA. He was very generous and helpful and clearly has his feet firmly on the ground. I also rely on several 30-year overviews of the SA economy by the Bureau of Economic Research at Stellenbosch and work done by Prof Johan Fourie at Stellenbosch. Any mistakes are mine.

The old excuse — “the Master’s Office is a mess, nobody’s checking” — won’t protect you. For years, trust administration functioned in the shadows of formal compliance. In many cases trusts were registered and forgotten, personal bank accounts were used for transactions and tax returns never submitted. SARS had limited visibility and the Master’s office wasn’t equipped to enforce compliance. Many trustees simply “flew under the radar.”

This mindset is now a liability. Trustees who fail to adapt are exposing themselves to significant financial, legal, and personal risks.