Dear FISA Members
This year really kicked off with a bang and it’s hard to believe that we’re already in May.
Although the annual budget speech didn’t deliver much to talk about, the increase in the amounts that SA residents are allowed to invest abroad has prompted us to use “offshore” as our theme for this newsletter. I’m sure you’ll find the articles interesting.
I hope that by now you have started using the user-friendly CPD system on the website and that you are regularly capturing your training points. We will continue bringing you more training opportunities this year and are already hard at work planning our 2015 conference, which will be held on 10 September in Gauteng – watch your e-mails for further communication in this regard. We are of course offering the FPSA® exam again and wish those of you who are planning to write the exam all the best with your preparations.
As always, we invite you to engage with FISA on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Fiduciary regards
Ronel Williams
Chairperson
We commissioned Colin Daniels once again to create an exclusive cartoon for our newsletter and hope you enjoy it!
In terms of our agreement with Colin, please note this should not be used elsewhere.
Q&A with Ronel Williams
Q&A with Ronel WilliamsRonel Williams, FISA’s newly-elected National Chairperson, chatted to Lucy Reyburn, FISA’s PR consultant, about her fiduciary background and her vision for her term of office. Read More.
Ronel’s contact details can be found here.
Q&A with Louis van Vuren
Q&A with Louis van VurenLouis van Vuren, FISA CEO, brought Lucy Reyburn, FISA’s PR consultant, up to speed with some operational issues, including the exams and CPD. Read More.
Click here for Louis’s contact details.
Consider leaving your offshore assets to an offshore trust
Consider leaving your offshore assets to an offshore trustIn this article, Tanya Cohen, FISA member and Fiduciary Specialist at Momentum, outlines the reasons why it may be favourable to leave offshore assets to an offshore trust. She points out that not all jurisdictions are trust-friendly. Read More.
If you would like to contact Tanya, her details can be found here.
Resealing foreign grants of probate
Resealing foreign grants of probateSome members may have had to deal with the situation that a South African passes away leaving assets in the UK. In this article, Oliver Phipps, a FISA member and Associate with Lester Aldridge in England, explains “resealing”, which is a fast and efficient way to obtain recognition of the letters of executorship by the English court. Read More.
Click here for Oliver’s contact details.
US and UK situs tax
US and UK situs taxTracy Muller discusses the complex rules around situs tax which is generally levied in the UK and USA on assets which are classed as UK or US situs assets even when they are owned by non-residents. Tracy is a FISA member and Head of Fiduciary, Nedbank Private Wealth. Read More.
Tracy can be contacted on these details.
SARS and the taxation of trusts
SARS and the taxation of trustsFranscois van Gijsen gives members a timely and detailed update on the taxation of trusts. Franscois is a FISA member and Director: Legal at Finlac. Read More.
Click here for Francois’s contact details.
What constitutes a dutiable estate upon death?
David Knott, FISA member and Director, Private Client Trust, says that even amongst seasoned executors, there is sometimes confusion as to what will actually constitute an estate for Estate Duty purposes after death. Read More.
David’s contact details can be found here.
FISA in the media
FISA featured in 79 media outlets in the period 1 January to 30 April 2015. Thanks very much to those members who contribute articles or attend to media queries. Media coverage can be a powerful tool for building the FISA brand and attracting new members or encouraging the public to use members’ services.
Click here to open document containing a small selection of the media coverage over the past four months. Most of the coverage is posted on the website so be sure to check the News tab from time to time for articles not only of possible interest to you, but also to your clients. FISA also tweets the coverage and encourages comment on occasional articles on the FISA LinkedIn group.