It’s hard to believe that another year is almost behind us. Reflecting on the past year, we certainly have much to be grateful for; first and foremost is our health, post-Covid. The past two years have felt surreal. They were such vulnerable times, and we all endured so much, personally, professionally and as a country. I am sure you all agree that we are glad to put them behind us.

This year has not been without its challenges, and there has been little positive on the economic front, with the Russian war being blamed as the catalyst for the global economic downturn.

While we are well into the negative economic cycle, there are varied opinions on how long this may last. Every market crash in history has been different, with a different catalyst, length in time and magnitude. All we can hold onto is the fact that historically, markets have enjoyed a handsome recovery when this passes. We must constantly remind ourselves that investing is a marathon, not a sprint.

Chartered has enjoyed a successful year. Our team continues to grow as we ensure we deliver a world-class advice offering. The most exciting development was the launch of WealthStrat. Next year we will be 20 years old, and we have extensive experience in the financial planning space and dealing with multiple investment offerings. While these have served our clients, we always look for ways to improve our offerings. We found that the biggest reason clients don’t change or update their investments to align with the latest global trends is their refusal to pay Capital Gains Tax. Our mission was to build a solution with a global investment consultant that can keep pace with global trends and blend the best of passive and active managers, including the best of local and global managers—ultimately delivering returns in keeping with your risk profile at a cost well below the industry average.

Our four solutions include a cautious, moderate and growth portfolio and a worldwide flexible solution; this is the only portfolio not constrained by Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act. This solution allows for far more global exposure.

We saw over a billion rand flowing into these solutions within the first five weeks of WealthStrat’s launch. Morningstar continues to blow us away with its research providing valuable insights. As clients realise the cost efficiency and the benefit of having a significant global investment consultant running the research for these solutions, we do not doubt that these will become the preferred solution. We can move existing investments into these new solutions without paying Capital Gains Tax. Lastly, any changes made within these solutions, including transferring funds from one manager to another or changing asset allocations, e.g., moving more offshore, will also not result in a Capital Gains Tax event.
Thank you for your incredible support. We look forward to seeing these solutions deliver on all our expectations.

Congratulations to Director of Chartered Western Cape, Tom Brukman, and Associate Planner, Mona Manzambi on their incredible achievements this year. Tom was one of the top three finalists in the FPI Financial Planner of the Year competition, and Mona won the FPI Diversity and Inclusion Award. We are incredibly proud of both of you.

In this newsletter, our team have shared some articles of interest, building your awareness in some areas of advice. Enjoy the read.

In closing, we are grateful for your continued support and engagement this year, and we look forward to a far more prosperous 2023.

Warm regards,
John