Dear clients and associates December 2015
2015 is almost over
and it’s time for our annual newsletter. A warm welcome to all our new clients
– it is our privilege to have you at our practice. All the new clients were
referrals from existing clients, and we are grateful for these referrals. (Please
find attached an interesting article from Discovery regarding referrals.) During
the year risk and short-term clients contacted us for advice, while other clients
retired or accepted retirement packages. In some cases clients had only three
days to decide whether they will accept the severance package from their
employer. We drafted reports to assist these clients and to ensure they made an
informed decision. Please note: It is of the utmost importance that you contact
us before retiring or when you
are considering accepting a severance package, as we can draft a detailed
report that considers and highlights all financial implications.
Investments
and creation of wealth
Investments and the creation of wealth is the
single biggest component in our practice; that is why we spend an enormous
amount of time and energy on investment management. As we are passionate about investments,
we continuously try to improve investment management. 2015 was a trying year
for markets, with the JSE All Share growth of 3.72% for the year up till 30
November 2015. During the same term money markets performed at 6.28%. South
Africa is currently experiencing a rising interest rate cycle. While this is
good news for investors with money-market funds, it puts a lot of pressure on
those with debt. Financial studies have shown that money-market funds cannot
outperform inflation over the long term, and this is why one should not invest
excessively in these funds. Economists predict further volatility in the market
during 2016. Because of this, we advise you not to make short-sighted or emotional
decisions, but to stay focused on your long-term goal. Our and our fund
managers’ objective is to achieve fund performances equal to or greater than
the respective benchmarks over a three-year rolling period. Even though this
implies there will be periods of volatility (as we are currently experiencing),
our model portfolios still achieved its long-term goals. The chart below
indicates the net growth of our models for 2016.
|
Risk
profile
|
3-year rolling benchmark
|
1 year
|
3 years
|
5 years
|
|
Conservative
|
Inflation +2%
|
8.83%
|
9.67%
|
10.19%
|
|
Cautious
|
Inflation +3%
|
8.10%
|
10.54%
|
10.90%
|
|
Moderate
|
Inflation +5%
|
8.00%
|
12.52%
|
12.72%
|
|
Moderately aggressive
|
Inflation +7%
|
14.13%
|
19.34%
|
17.86%
|
|
Aggressive
|
Inflation +9%
|
14.24%
|
19.51%
|
18.18%
|
|
Money Market
|
|
6.28%
|
5.55%
|
5.45%
|
|
JSE/Alsi 40
|
|
3.72%
|
11.41%
|
10.87%
|
Congratulations and inspiration
Congratulations to
all our clients who have successfully completed their studies, those who were
promoted and those who reached any other milestone. We are proud of you.
We also want to congratulate
to Betsie Roux’s grandson with his great achievement in rugby, as well as Chris
Smit’s son Nico, who were selected for the u.18 SA athletic team for the disabled.
You are an inspiration to us all. You are most welcome to share your and your
family’s achievements with us.
Studies
We keep up with constant changes in the
industry by attending several workshops and seminars, as it is our objective to
always render the most appropriate and up-to-date service and advice to you, our
valued clients. This practice is also in line with the Financial Service Board’s
(FSB) continuous education program.
Tax
assessments
The assessments were mostly settled without
problems, but we had a few cases where the South African Revenue Service (SARS)
incorrectly disallowed claims. In some cases it took months to rectify these.
Please keep in mind a lot of these cases were due to an error that SARS made, and
we really try our best to rectify it as soon as possible. We have brought this
issue to SARS’ attention, and they confirmed as from 4 December 2015 the
dispute resolution process will be extended and improved. Please also supply
your tax documentation in good time to ensure next year’s tax assessments are
finalised as soon as possible.
Estates/wills
and legal advice services
Thank you to all the companies for your
expertise and personalised service to us as well as our clients. A special
thank you to Petri Lourens, a senior legal advisor at Old Mutual.
Sad
news
Best wishes to everyone who is recovering
from a serious illness or accident. Our thoughts are with the Van Breda family,
who lost a member. Rita’s optimism in spite of the serious illness is an inspiration
and an example of a life lived fully.
Benefits
and claims: life cover/disability/severe illness (risk)
During the past year our office handled only disability
and severe illness claims. Thank you to our product providers, who paid out 100%
of all the claims submitted. We only make use of reliable product providers
with an excellent claim and payment history. Thank you to all our consultants
and your administrative staff. You contribute a great deal, but do not always
receive well-deserved credit.
Clients often enquire about direct product
providers offering cheaper premiums and great payback values. Please be careful
when requesting quotes from these companies. Ask written quotes from them and
we will do a complete comparison on your behalf. We have requested quotations
ourselves (on our own details), and the premium for the same benefits was 32%
more expensive without any payback values.
During the past four years we have submitted
seven claims for one client. Six of them have been settled, and we are finalising
the latest claim. This highlights the value of using recognized and trusted
product providers.
Unfortunately we also know about a tragic
case: due to financial difficulty a former client, a qualified craftsman,
cancelled his insurance and resigned, forfeiting his group scheme benefits.
Recently he contacted us with the news that he has lost his leg, but now cannot
receive any compensation in this regard.
Well
wishes
Best wishes to everyone now living overseas,
whether temporarily or permanently. We also want to send our regards to our
retirees who have moved to retirement villages. All the best with this new
phase; you can rest assured that we will be with you every step of the way.
Short-term
insurance
Last year we mentioned a case study where a
false claim was submitted. The claim was denied, the client’s short-term
insurance was cancelled and consequently no insurer will issue him a new
policy. When you apply for a new policy or submit a claim, please ensure that
all the information you supply is true and accurate.
Our office policy is to provide the best
products to our clients, but these are not necessarily the cheapest. Where
possible we do try to provide a competitive premium with discounts, and we
endlessly seek to improve and extend our service to our clients. Please take
note of the advantages of working with and advisor.
Advisors versus direct marketers:
1.)
The advisor works for the client and has the
client’s best interest in mind. The clerk at the call centre works for the
service provider and acts in the interest of the service provider.
2.)
Claims: The advisor handles claims and
negotiates on behalf of the client, if necessary; direct marketers negotiate on
behalf of the service provider.
3.)
Over time you build a relationship with the
advisor and speak to the same individuals every time. With direct marketers you
have to communicate with different people every time. All our information is
stored, amended and documented on the electronic system we use; with direct
marketers the same information is requested every time you contact them.
Statistics confirm traditional insurers
maintain a claim payment ratio of at least 70%, compared to 52% by direct
insurers. Please ensure that you have sufficient insurance coverage at all
times. Replacement values of buildings and house content, as well as the book
values of vehicles, must be adjusted annually. Please check your schedules
carefully and make sure all the information is correct. All expensive items
must be specified, and also take note of any excess payments. At additional
charges excess payments can be removed, but we would advise you to discuss this
with our office if you are interested. Please also remember any items taken out
of your home must be specified, for example your laptop, iPad, GPS and iPod.
Cell phones, bicycles, cash and sports equipment must also be specified to be
able to claim. Contact us if you are unsure about any of the requirements.
Please also inform us if you are not satisfied
with your premium or service. We would rather address the problem than have you
change to a different service provider without our knowledge. In most cases we will
be able to provide a solution.
For
enquiries during the festive season when our office is closed:
Mutual &
Federal Tel:
0861 247 365 (Claims, emergencies, Swiftcare: roadside assistance, household
emergencies and medical emergencies.)
Tel:
0860 637 373 (For example enquiries
about adding or removing items or any other amendments.) You will have to provide the policy number or the ID number of the
policy holder.
Santam Tel: 0860 505 911 (Claims, emergencies,
SOS: roadside assistance, household emergencies and medical emergencies.)
Tel:
0860 726 826 (For example
enquiries about adding or removing items or any other amendments.) You will have to provide the policy number
or the ID number of the policy holder.
Auto &
General Tel: 021 527 8666 (All claims,
enquiries and amendments.)
Tel:
0860 104 210 (Emergencies
after hours) Please remember there is an additional excess of R2 000 for
accidents between 23:00 and 05:00.
Revision
appointments
In an
ever-changing environment your portfolio and financial needs must be reviewed
annually or biannually, and we are committed to fulfil this requirement in our
service agreement. Please also provide us with your group scheme benefit
statement on (benefits at work) when you receive it.
Website
Please visit our website, www.tvzfinancialservices.co.za, or comment on our Facebook page. We aim
to regularly upload new information or articles. You are welcome to give
recommendations and refer your friends and family to these platforms to get to
know more about our practice.
Compliance
Masthead, the biggest network for brokers,
still assess whether we are compliant with industry standards. They provide the
FSB with input and recommendations, and we are extremely proud to announce with
our most recent compliance report we received a score of 100%. This means our
work complies fully. Thank you to everybody at Masthead.
Our
practice behind the scenes
This year we made a few changes to provide a
better service. We upgraded our computers, bought a cordless phone and switched
to another internet service provider to ensure a more stable connection. New
programs were also developed and installed. Our offices are also continuously
being improved, and you would have noticed our entrance has moved from Bluegum Avenue
to Boundary Road. Please feel free to visit us at any time.
Personal
Unfortunately we have also fallen victim to
crime – in November there was a break-in at our office. Amongst other things laptops
and wallets were stolen. Thanks to our short-term insurance our new laptops
were delivered a day after the incident, and Janneri reinstalled all the necessary
programs over the weekend. Thank you for the dedication.
Toni had a successful thigh, navel hernia and
eye operation. Afterwards he received stitches for a dog bite, but he is now
fully recovered. Antoni had a toe operation, but has also recovered. We are proud
to announce we will soon be welcoming a new member to the family: Janneri and
Antoni’s second baby is expected to arrive early May. This means Janneri will
be on maternity leave a part of the year.
At the time of compiling this letter, we had already
achieved our financial goals for the financial year. We are humbled by this and
would like to sincerely thank all our clients for making it possible.
We
look forward to 2016 and all its challenges.
Our office will close on 18 December and re-open on 7 January 2016. Antoni and Janneri will be
back at the office on 13 January 2016.
Merry
Christmas and best wishes for the New Year!
Kind
regards
From
all of us at Toni van Zyl Financial Services
No comments:
Post a Comment