FISA Council

FISA is governed by a 10-person Council. Three councillors are elected by all members (the Nationally Elected Councillors), while members in the six regions elect a chairperson for their Regional Committee for a term of two years. These chairpersons serve as Regional Councillors. The CEO is appointed by the Nationally Elected and Regional Councillors and is also a member of Council. The Regional Committees promote FISA in their region by:

  • Cooperation with the Office of the Master of the High Court (MoHC), the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and other stakeholders.
  • Arranging continuous professional development (CPD) sessions in the regions.

There are seven special purpose committees comprising experts in the areas of trusts, estates, compliance, tax, education and training, employee-benefit trusts and beneficiary funds.

Dr Eben Nel

Chairperson and National Councillor (FPSA®)

Dr Eben Nel has twenty-one years’ experience in the financial planning and fiduciary industry, the last eleven of which have been with PSG Trust in Port Elizabeth. Dr Nel specialises in estate planning, wills and trusts. He has a doctorate in trust law and financial instruments and is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa.

He is also a Research Associate in the Faculty of Law at the Nelson Mandela University. Dr Nel contributes regularly to peer-reviewed legal publications on trust law and related topics.

Penelope Du Plessis

Vice Chairperson and Gauteng
Regional Councillor (FPSA®)

Penelope du Plessis has 28 years’ experience in the fiduciary industry. She is currently the Managing Director of Uberrima Phoenix (Pty) Ltd, a trust company specialising in court order trusts. Prior to the appointment of Managing Director, she filled Senior Trust Officer positions within Sentinel International Advisory Services, BoE Trust and Fairheads Benefit Services. She holds the professional designation FPSA®.

Angélique Krügel

National Councillor (CFP®, FPSA® MTP (SA), TEP)

Angélique Krügel, a director at Wealth and Legacy Group, has many years experience in estate planning, estates, trusts, wills and tax. Positions held previously were Head of Fiduciary at Standard Bank Private Clients, Head of Governance at FNB Trust Services and Director at FNB Trust Services Namibia. She is a Certified Financial Planner, a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the South African Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT).

She was Chairperson of the Fiduciary Institute of Southern Africa (FISA) from 2012 – 2015 and liaises with the Chief Master’s office, SARS, National Treasury and various other stakeholders as a National Council Member. She has a Masters degree in Law and a post graduate diploma in financial planning. She is passionate about the industry and is a regular commentator in the media.

Rumana Mahomed

KZN Regional Councillor BSoc.Sc.; LLB;
Cert in Islamic Law (UKZN); FPSA®

Rumana Mahomed runs a niche practice as an Attorney and Fiduciary Practitioner in Durban, KZN. Rumana has more than 18 years’ of experience specialising in Estates, Wills, Trusts and advising on Estate Planning after having gained valuable expertise during her years at the Masters Office. Rumana actively consults on Islamic Personal Law: Marriage, Divorce and Inheritance and is one of the founding members of the Muslim Personal Law Network which advocates for gender egalitarian approaches to Muslim family laws.

Rumana is a Trustee of the FISA Bursary Scheme Trust, has served as the Masters Office Liaison for FISA KZN, holds membership with the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) and the South African Women Lawyers Association (SAWLA) and has held senior leadership positions in various local community-based initiatives. With a keen passion on education and gender justice Rumana regularly presents on her areas of expertise in the media and at public and online events.

Rynoe Smith

Central Regional Councillor (FPSA®, CFP®)

Rynoe has over 35 years’ experience in the fiduciary industry, having started his career in 1983 and worked for some of the major banks and trust companies over the years. He is currently a Wealth Manager with PSG Wealth in Bloemfontein.

Rynoe is a Certified Financial Planner® and a Tax Practitioner registered with SAIT. He has various tax diplomas and certificates obtained through UNISA. He is a member of both FIA and the FPI and acted on the tax committee of the FPI.

Ryno Venter

Western Cape Regional Councillor (FPSA®, TEP)

Ryno has over 10 years’ experience in the fiduciary industry. Having acted as a director of Treasury Trust Services (Pty) Ltd, a fiduciary services company and CEO of Destinata Holdings Limited, a public company, he now operates a boutique family office Capitor (Pty) Ltd, catering for high net worth families’ fiduciary and financial needs. He holds a BA law degree from Stellenbosch University and a post graduate diploma in financial planning from the University of Free State. He further holds professional designations as a CFP®, FPSA® and GTP(SA) and is a member of the Institute of Directors SA.

Donice Perkins

Eastern Cape Regional Councillor

Donice has gained valuable experience in various fields of the law over the past 29 years, with specialised experience in the drafting of Wills, Deceased Estate Administration on various levels of complexity and the set-up of Trusts.

Donice is passionate about people and the fiduciary industry and applies careful thought and innovative strategies and solutions within the confines of law, striving to establish long-term relationships with clients and to deliver a confidential and professional service.

Ricky Opperman-Knipe

Northern Regional Councillor

Ricky’s fiduciary journey began in 1996 with First National Bank Trust company as an estate’s practitioner. From there he moved to Sentinel International Trust company, where he fulfilled the rolls of Senior Estates Administrator, Assistant Manager in the Pretoria office and finally as Group Marketing Manager.

Ricky joined Boshoff Inc Attorneys in 2020 as Fiduciary Relationship Manager. In July 2023, Ricky returned to Sentinel International as Brand Ambassador for the Group.Ricky has an advanced diploma in Estate and Trust administration and is a proud holder of the FPSA® designation through FISA.

Aaron Roup

National Councillor and
Secretary (FCIS, FPSA®, TEP)

Aaron has over 25 years ‘ experience in the fiduciary industry, specialising in trusts. He is a member of STEP (Society for Trust & Estate Practitioners) and CIS (Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries & Administrators).

He has held the position of FISA Secretary since 1998.

Louis van Vuren

CEO (FPSA®, CFP®,TEP)

Louis van Vuren’s career in financial services goes back 30 years, with 24 of these in the fiduciary industry. He holds BA, LLB and LLM degrees from RAU (now UJ), the Advanced Certificate in Leadership from UCT and the Advanced Post-Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning from the UFS.

He served as legal adviser and in management in Old Mutual and in various senior management roles in Old Mutual Trust and BoE Trust, before taking early retirement in 2012. He is Director: Trust Services of Finlac Risk and Legal Management (Pty) Ltd, a fee-based financial planning practice in Cape Town.