Frequently asked questions

A financial plan is a blueprint of how you will build, develop and protect your lifestyle. It is a map of how you will achieve your lifestyle goals through investments, financial products and insurance. It is a comprehensive analysis that looks at your current situation, helps establish your goals and formulates a plan on how to achieve them.

A good financial plan considers factors such as how to best maximise your opportunities to save tax, how to build wealth and capital and how best to protect your assets and dependants. It also takes into account your appetite for risk, how much time you have to achieve your goals, your current assets, liabilities and expenditure and important life events that may be taking place or approaching. Proper financial planning can be complex and should therefore be done with the assistance of a suitably qualified Financial Adviser.

Contact your Financial Advisor or our office at 016 950 1200.

Short-term insurance is usually renewed every year. Long-term insurance protects something even more valuable than your belongings. It covers your life or your ability to earn an income. Long-term insurance policies include policies like funeral cover, life insurance, disability cover and income protection.

Estate planning entails the legacy you would like to leave through your will, as well as giving consideration to the establishment of trusts and the needs of your beneficiaries, be they majors or of minor age. The estate planning process generally starts with the drafting of your will.

It is a form of protection from the financial burden that results when medical schemes do not cover doctor and specialist in-hospital treatment charges in full. It also covers you for the same shortfalls that result from approximately 50 out-patient treatments and procedures. It covers you for hospital admission and procedure-specific co-payments charged by your medical scheme.

Medical aid is a form of insurance where you pay a monthly amount – called a contribution or premium – in return for financial cover for medical treatment you may need, as well as any related medical expenses.

While it is true that the younger you start the more beneficial the process will be, financial planning is worthwhile at any age. Although younger people may have more decisions to make regarding their financial lives, changing laws and circumstances can lead middle-aged people and seniors to have to adjust their financial plans as well.

Changes in tax law, for example, may require many people to revisit certain investments or estate plans, and adequate disability planning becomes more important as people age.

Consider a visit to your doctor. Without complete and fully accurate details, your doctor cannot prescribe the best course of action. The same applies to financial planning. In order to obtain the best service for your “financial health,” all details and specifics must be disclosed.

It is good to review the plan when there is a lifestyle change such as marriage, birth, death or divorce. Any change in financial position should be evaluated as well. Most people have an annual update that reviews how the plan is being implemented. The review also considers changing goals and circumstances.