Investors demand justice as alleged ‘Ponzi mastermind’ remains free

Victims of the Classic Financial Services scheme express dismay that director Cobus Geldenhuis remains at large amid ongoing accusations of defrauding innocent investors.

Can you cancel a contract by email?

Published with the kind permission of Van der Spuy & Partners Your agreement is signed, sealed and delivered! You know that in the agreement a non-variation clause stipulates that no variation or consensual […]

Sub-agent Accountability

Proposal I: Conduct Standards for referrals and lead generation Certain specifically identified forms of referrals and leads will be included in the regulatory framework as a form of financial intermediation, and will be […]

Demarcation regulations and low cost benefit options

Legalbrief Today published an article on 3 September titled “New health cover demarcation regulations imminent” which notes that the final demarcation regulations for short and long-term health insurance will be gazetted in September. […]

Ponzis and Pyramids

City Press recently published a very interesting article by Neesa Moodley titled The problem with Ponzis and pyramids. Everyone wants to get rich, and some want it to happen as fast as possible. This is often the reason […]

NHI White Paper due soon

According to a Business Day Live report, the long-awaited White Paper on National Health Insurance (NHI), together with a linked discussion document on financing options, are about to enter the Cabinet process. A […]

Financial Sector Regulation Bill Update

Legalbrief Policy Watch reports that the Financial Sector Regulation Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament later this month. The report also states: “Several references in the briefing document to a ‘Market […]

Unaudited Financial Statements

We posed some follow-up questions to the FSB on the contents of FAIS Notices 81 and 82 of 2015 and include their response below: Are eligible FSPs, wanting to make use of the […]

Interesting Short-term Ombud Cases

The latest Ombud Briefcase contains a number of case studies which provides guidance on key aspects of the industry. Non-disclosure of a criminal record A direct insurer rejected a claim on the above […]

Special Audit on Sign-On bonuses and Churning

FAIS Newsletter 17 contains details of the outcome of this special compliance audit to investigate the link between the payment of sign-on bonuses and the replacing of products as a result thereof. The […]

Crime and Punishment

It is not only in rugby that we see different standards being applied by those tasked with applying the rules. The recent banning of an adviser in Australia, compared to some recent appeals […]

Landmark ruling on Non-disclosure

A very important recent judgment clarifies the issue of what a client has to disclose after effecting insurance. The Mercury reports as follows: “Two years ago Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge, Piet Koen, ruled […]

Remorse as a Mitigating Factor

The latest decision by the FSB Appeal Board contains an interesting perspective on the impact of remorse in cases where a review of a decision by the Regulator is requested. The reasons for […]

More Debarments end up in Court

Two financial advisers in KZN turned to the High Court in Pietermaritzburg after being debarred by their former employer. According to an article in the Mercury, the reason for the debarment, given by […]

Compliance Reminders

FSPs with a financial year end of 28 February, have until the end of June to submit their Financial Statements to the FSB. The Exemption of FSPs and Representatives from Section 13(1)(c) of the […]

Late Lodging of Appeal Disallowed

The FSB Appeal Board issued an urgent notice recently regarding late lodging of appeals after a decision in the Cyclone Matibe Makola case against the Registrar. In this case, the appellant noted his appeal some […]

RDR Update 19 May 2015

At the recent Discovery Financial Planning Summit, the FSB gave feedback on some of the responses it received to the discussion document on the Retail Distribution Review. It also provided possible timelines for […]