ED'S NOTE Gregory
ED'S NOTE Gregory Penfold, Editor Retiring sustainably For a long time, the world of financial planning revolved around the same set of client goals: the ability to retire securely and leave a legacy. These goals have not changed, but the environment in which they may be achieved has changed beyond all recognition. However, a lot of people still behave as though the world around them is the same as the world they grew up in. Ironically, this inability to see change could jeopardise those goals. As I write this note, thousands of people in South Africa, and millions more around the world, are taking part in some form of climate strike. Workers are not turning up to work and children are not showing up for school. Climate activist Greta Thunberg has succeeded in calling the bluff of the cynical political class in the USA by using the tool of integrity to upstage a Senator devoid of anything resembling an ethical principle. The idea is to send a loud and unequivocal message that it is time for those with the power to make a difference to use that power seriously and with integrity. What does this have to do with financial planning? Well, it makes a big difference where a client's assets are located. Funds that have performed well for you in the past may be deep into oil and coal. Considering that the effects of climate change may threaten not only the wellbeing of your clients' offspring but also, at a time when people can expect to live another 30 years after retirement, the wellbeing of your clients themselves. Imagine in a secure retirement village while the world around it is on fire. See Rob Macdonald's article on sustainability for some reflections on this theme. On a different tack, the lack of diversity in financial planning in South Africa has long been a bone of contention. Go to any financial planning conference and the demographics are much the same. However, a different force is driving transformation in the industry: the client base itself is transforming, and it is largely thanks to the efforts of black women. For this we have to thank "black tax", or family responsibility, a deeply entrenched aspect of the culture of the majority of South Africans. For the first time, the women on whose shoulders falls the burden of looking after the extended family have enough wealth to invest. This is changing the financial planning game from the bottom up. For more on this topic, see our interview with Wealth Creed's Gugu Sidaki. A prosperous Spring to all our readers. Editor: Greg Penfold Art Director: Brent Meder Client Liaison Officer: Lizel Olivier Project Manager: Chris Whales, Global Africa Network Advertising Executives: Bayanda Sikiti, Sam Oliver, Rudi Balie, Gavin van der Merwe, Jeremy Petersen Subscriptions: Lee-Ann Lawrence Fax: +27 (0) 21 683 4364 RSA: R125.70, Foreign: R335.70 Distribution Manager: Edward MacDonald Circulation: Lee-Ann Lawrence Accounts Department: Chevonne Ismail (accountant) Brigitte Eberbach Debtors Department: Nadeema Abdullah Printing: FA Print CAPE MEDIA CORPORATION Managing Director: Robert Arendse Financial Director: Andrew Brading
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