Welcome to the first FISA newsletter!
Each newsletter will run a few articles by members, as well as some general news items. We welcome contributions and feedback, so please write to me and engage with FISA on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
The theme of this issue is Change. There has been quite a lot of change recently, not least of which are the proposed changes to tax laws affecting trusts. Franscois van Gijsen looks at the future of trusts in light of some legal case history; and Gert van den Berg and Stefan Strydom give a practical calculation based on how they interpret the proposed new income tax dispensation of trusts. Ulrich Hoffmann reflects on change in estate administration and Oliver Phipps discusses offshore wills by means of some useful examples.
Elsewhere we inform you on the FPSA® exam and the exciting new developments around CPD points, update you on FISA Council changes, and chat to Cheryl Howard in the first of a series of interviews with regional Councillors. We also run an item about LinkedIn as we believe this is an ideal forum for the exchange of fiduciary ideas.
Enjoy the read!
Fiduciary regards
Angelique Visser, Chairperson
We have commissioned Colin Daniels to create an exclusive cartoon for the FISA newsletter and hope you enjoy it! In terms of our agreement with Colin, please note this should not be used elsewhere.
Suggest a name for our newsletter!
We invite members to suggest an inspired name for the newsletter. It needs to be short and relevant to the fiduciary theme. The name that receives most votes by Council will ‘win’ the member a copy of the Estate Planning and Fiduciary Services Guide which was recently published by Lexis Nexis. Submit your entry to FISA here.
Where did the trust go?
Franscois van Gijsen CFP®, FPSA®, asks “Where did the trust go?” in this article which will also appear in the latest edition of The Financial Planner magazine. Franscois is Director of Legal Services at Finlac. Read more.
The Budget and taxation of trusts
Gert van den Berg and Stefan Strydom give their interpretation of the 2013 Budget tax proposals, with a calculation. Gert and Stefan are both with the Estate and Trust Services division of PwC in Gauteng. Read more.
Estate administration – looking back
Ulrich Hoffman gives some personal perspectives on changes in the administration of estates. Ulrich is Regional Director – Western Cape at Sentinel International Trust Company. Read more.
Offshore wills
Oliver Phipps, a FISA member and Solicitor in England with Lester Aldridge LLP, writes about offshore wills and gives some interesting case studies. Read more.
FISA events
Have you visited our events calendar on the FISA website yet? Events are regularly uploaded, including regional FISA meetings. In particular, please diarise the FISA Annual Conference (19 September 2013 in Centurion, Gauteng) and the FPSA® exams which will be held in November 2013.
CPD initiative!
As most members will know, FISA has introduced a CPD initiative programme from 1 April 2013. This is an important initiative aimed at maintaining high standards in the industry. It is also a sign that the fiduciary industry is truly coming into its own as an acknowledged and respected profession. Read more.
Regional Q&A
We chat to Cheryl Howard, FISA Councillor for Gauteng, about her vision, plans and events for the Gauteng region. Read more.
FPSA® exam
The registration deadline for the 2013 FPSA® exam is 20 September. You can register on the website, under Exams under the Careers tab in the main menu. Louis van Vuren, Chair: FISA Education Committee, has written an article on the relevance of the exam which you can read here.
New Council appointments
At the March AGM, Khaya Thango, a KwaZulu Natal advocate, was appointed as Deputy Chairperson of FISA. Read about Khaya here. We also welcome Ronel Williams as a new National Councillor. Ronel is with Nedbank Private Wealth in Cape Town. You can see the list of all Council members here.
Join FISA on LinkedIn!
Please join us on LinkedIn. The FISA LinkedIn group is exclusive to those who join it and it’s an ideal forum to discuss industry issues with each other. We also post up articles of interest. If you don’t yet have a LinkedIn account, click here to follow the easy steps to create a profile. You can also visit the LinkedIn Help Centre for tips and guidance.
PS. You can also follow Angelique Visser, FISA Chairperson, on Twitter for regular industry updates.
Calling all writers
FISA is always looking for interesting articles to use in the newsletter or the media. So if you would like to write an article on a fiduciary topic, please send it to angelique@www.fisa.net.za
And remember that you can earn CPD points in the process. A published article of at least 750 words will earn you 3 CPD points (verifiable). Any article that is not accepted for publication in an industry publication will still earn you 3 CPD points, but has to be recorded as unverifiable and is, of course, subject to the limitation on unverifiable CPD. Please see the CPD Programme Charter on the FISA website.
Please follow these important guidelines:
- Length – ideally 750 words (max 1000)
- Content – technical and informative
- Style – plain English, no jargon and be objective
- Provide case studies, examples or calculations where possible
- Provide your full name, title and company
- Please also provide a high-resolution head and shoulders colour photo (300 dpi/at least 1 MB)