20
Jun
2017
For professionals in business, the C-word is important, but not the one you thought
Being a professional in business raises a number of dilemmas. To what extent are you obligated to serve the needs of your clients above your own? The first FAIS Ombud, the late Charles ...
8
Jun
2017
Innovation is everywhere. Except, it seems, when it comes to people.
Innovation is arguably the core competency of any business in the 21st Century. Such a jargon-laden statement could be straight from any management textbook. After all, as we are ...
29
May
2017
How would you like to die? How often do you ask your clients this question?
"What would we be doing now if you had died last night?" is a question one South African financial planner likes to ask early in a meeting with a potential new client. It captures the ...
24
May
2017
Your brand – it’s not on the outside… it’s inside!
How important is a brand for a financial planning business? After all, financial planning is a business that is all about the relationship. The personal touch. The aptitude to connect ...
16
May
2017
Why make a fuss over your Value Proposition?
Why worry about working on your value proposition? Surely being a financial planner is just about doing your work as well as possible and giving great service? The rest surely will ...
5
May
2017
Find your purpose as a business and solve your people problem
"How do I find good people?" and "How do I retain good people?" are probably the two most common people-related questions owners of financial planning businesses ask. Followed closely ...
3
May
2017
Dunbar’s number and how many true financial planning client relationships you can re...
"Dunbar's number" - named after British anthropologist Robin Dunbar and based on his research, which suggests that there may be a physiological limit to the number of people with whom ...
5
Sep
2016
Structured Products: the International Titans Basket offered by Investec Bank
We have recently received a number of queries around the value of structured products within a client portfolio. This research note covers these products generally, with specific ...
7
Jul
2016
UK Property Funds: Barbarians at the Gate
It appears that democracy is squarely to blame for clients being unable to get their money out of many of the UK direct property funds. Who would have thought that the vote last ...
17
May
2016
Fight instinct to back perennial winners
Which fund would you buy today, without knowing anything more about them? A top-quartile fund returning 30 per cent over three years, or a bottom-quartile fund that lost 10 per cent in ...