Mpumalanga Business 2017 edition

FOCUS
More to good advice than
being sold a funeral policy
In Standard Bank Financial Consultancy Mpumalanga there are 26 well-educated
financial planners who are dedicated to do holistic financial planning for customers.
“Financial advice is an experience, not an event. In the past, brokers made
it an event by being fly-by-night salesmen who sold you a financial
product and never returned to service you,” Gerald Mwandiambira, the
acting chief executive office of the South African Savings Institute (Sasi)
said during a recent Liberty media event.
Mwandiambira, who holds the Certified Financial Planner accreditation,
says a funeral policy is the only financial product many black
people have. As a result, they have experienced bad advice because,
while the policy provided cover for a funeral, it fails to meet their broader
financial needs.
Many people do not know how life policies work; they can provide
disability cover, income protection, income replacement during a severe
illness or even a lump-sum payment on death to cover a child’s
entire education.
“The funeral policy experience, with shortfalls in cover, insufficient
cash to meet needs and no follow-ups after the initial sale, often reinforces
their perception that financial advisers are not worth the effort,”
Mwandiambira explained.
The Financial Services Board’s review of the way in which we pay
for advice and the ways in which products are distributed, the Retail
Distribution Review (RDR), will provide greater transparency about costs
and enable individuals to choose advisers who sell financial advice, not
financial products. Products are solutions that should enable people
to implement the advice they have been given.
According to Mwandiambira, Sasi will embrace RDR, as it will ultimately
expose more people to the power of life assurance products
and real advice, which can enable people to create wealth across
generations.
He said he hopes that this will lead to products suited to the growing
black middle class, who typically face issues like single parenting,
providing for members of the extended family, and inadequate
retirement planning.
The team at Standard Bank concurs with Mwandiambira’s sentiments.
In Standard Bank Financial Consultancy (SBFC) Mpumalanga
we have 26 well-educated financial planners who are dedicated to do
holistic financial planning for our customers. This means the following:
• Trust: Our clients need to
feel safe doing business with
SBFC and to be assured in their
decision-making.
• Strong relationships: SBFC
focuses on building relationships
that bring long-term, sustainable
benefits to our clients.
• Family: We promote a balanced
lifestyle and recognise
the paramount importance of
family life for both colleagues
and clients.
• Detail: SBFC applies the proper
care and skill that would be
expected from a professional
financial advisor.
• Growth: SBFC continuously
improves in knowledge, skill,
efficiency and communication,
and adapts to changing
environments in the financial
industry.
• Smart partnerships: SBFC
works together with other
professional service providers
and our own expert partners
and other in-house expertise
to give our clients the best
possible advice.
We provide feedback to you
based on well-sourced comprehensive
market information.
Through diligent financial coaching
our aim is to secure your
personal financial prosperity.
MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2017 80