Blue Chip Journal, Issue 77

EDITOR'S NOTE A wealth

EDITOR'S NOTE A wealth of words It is time, again, for the FPI Professionals Convention and this year the Convention celebrates its 31st year. Another reason for celebration is that the three final contenders for FPI Financial Planner of the Year 2020 have been announced. Three CFP® professionals stood out this year for their expert knowledge and superior clients service: Hester van der Merwe, Henri le Grange and Johan Swart. Congratulations! The winner will be announced at the FPI Awards Ceremony on 27 October. Blue Chip will be interviewing the winner in our January 2021 issue. The golden thread that runs through this issue of Blue Chip is seeing beyond the money to the human need. Rob Macdonald, Fundhouse, suggests in his article, Are you working in the messy middle?, that perhaps it is time for financial planners to acknowledge that their primary role is to help clients achieve a life well-lived. On page 52, Kate Holmes attests that by moving beyond the numbers, you can show clients the true value of financial (life) planning. Kim Potgieter, in her article Building a financial planning business, contends that for life planning to be successful, it must be at the core of everything you do as a business. It needs to be part of your DNA, your values and your culture. And it has to be authentic. After entering the financial services industry 13 years ago, Kim Potgieter realised that it was a male-dominated industry with little support for females. Kim felt strongly that women in the sector needed a forum to meet, share experiences and learn from each other, so in 2013 she founded the Women in Finance Network (page 38). Palesa Dube, Wealth Creed, argues that the finance industry must become deliberate in creating a value proposition that speaks to the needs of the female market if we are to make any meaningful strides in attracting this market segment. Research shows that, in South Africa, only 3.5% of active funds are managed by a female portfolio manager or a female-only team. Alida de Swardt, CEO of RMI IM, is passionate about the empowerment of women in financial services. “There’s a lot of research that shows that diverse workforces achieve so much more,” she says in Tuning in to the beat of her own drum on page 32. RMI IM forms part of our focus on boutique managers, and James Downie, MitonOptimal debates whether it is better to invest in a boutique manager or a more established manager (page 26). Each article in this issue delves deeper, debates, deliberates and delivers a wealth of insight into the makings of a blue-chip financial planner. Enjoy the read! Alexis Knipe, Editor Blue Chip Journal – The official publication of FPI Blue Chip is a quarterly journal for the financial planning industry and is the official publication of the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa NPC (FPI), effective from the January 2020 edition. Blue Chip publishes contributions from FPI and other leading industry figures, covering all aspects of the financial planning industry. A total of 10 000 copies of the publication are distributed directly to every CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®) in the country, while the Blue Chip Digital e-newsletter reaches the full FPI membership base. FPI members are able to earn one non-verifiable Continuous Professional Development (CPD) hour per edition of the print journal (four per year) under the category of Professional Reading. Special advertising packages in Blue Chip are available to FPI Corporate Partners, FPI Recognised Education Providers and FPI Approved Professional Practices. blue-chip-journal ISSUE 77 | OCT 2020 Publisher: Chris Whales Editor: Alexis Knipe Online editor: Christoff Scholtz Designer: Simon Lewis Production: Lizel Olivier Ad sales: Sam Oliver Gavin van der Merwe Jeremy Petersen Bayanda Sikiti Venesia Fowler Managing director: Clive During Administration & accounts: Charlene Steynberg Kathy Wootton Printing: FA Print PUBLISHED BY Global Africa Network Media (Pty) Ltd Company Registration No: 2004/004982/07 Directors: Clive During, Chris Whales Physical address: 28 Main Road, Rondebosch 7700 Postal address: PO Box 292, Newlands 7701 www.bluechipdigital.co.za Tel: +27 21 657 6200 Fax: +27 21 674 6943 Email: info@gan.co.za Website: www.gan.co.za No portion of this book may be reproduced without written consent of the copyright owner. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Blue Chip, nor the publisher, none of whom accept liability of any nature arising out of, or in connection with, the contents of this book. The publishers would like to express thanks to those who support this publication by their submission of articles and with their advertising. All rights reserved. 6 www.bluechipdigital.co.za

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