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The widely anticipated tariffs were announced last night via executive order, on America’s so-called ‘Liberation Day’ and in discussions with our partners at Morningstar, the following should be noted. The sweeping announcement is intended to ‘make America wealthy again’ as tariffs effectively tax foreign producers on their imported goods, as a percentage of their value. The US is currently the largest goods importer in the world and is currently running a trade deficit (imports more than it exports). President Trump has said that he will not negotiate, however, if countries are willing to lower their charges on US goods, the White House will reduce the rate in effect. Market impact US Equities have sold off sharply, particularly those reliant on imported goods, as well as foreign companies that have significant exposure to the US market. At the time of writing, the FTSE 100 was down 1.4% to below 8,500, whilst sterling had appreciated to 1.32 against the dollar. Bond prices have broadly risen as investors have sought perceived safer assets. SA equities and bonds responded negatively after markets opened. The All-Share was down around -3,5% by end of-day with the decline being led by Financials at -4.3%, while both Resources and Industrials were down approximately -2.4%. The yield on the SA 10-year government bond spiked sharply to 11.3%, a move of 0.8% off the previous day's close. The rand remains relatively range-bound between R18.60 – R18.80 despite general US dollar weakness against most major currencies. What we know about the Tariffs: The tariffs that were imposed last night are of a reciprocal nature, meaning that countries are free to retaliate with their own tariffs on the US. Below are some of the standout tariffs that Trump has imposed across the globe: · China 34% · India 26% · Japan 24% · EU 20% · UK 10% South Africa, which currently applies 60% tariffs on the US, was handed a 30% reciprocal tariff. The effective rate is likely to be lower given that key commodity exports, including gold and platinum, are currently exempted. What we don’t know President Trump has not made it clear whether the tariffs will remain in place indefinitely and whether indeed they will remain at the initial level. There are many factors that could impact their longevity, including legal ramifications and future election implications. It is also yet to be seen how and when other countries will react to these changes. Countries may look to increase their current tariffs on the US or indeed may consider reducing them. Additionally, President Trump has stated that the only way to gain exemption from the tariffs is to set up factories and build products in the U.S., so we await to see how countries and companies react to this proposition. What’s next? While volatility and policy uncertainty will likely persist in the short term, we recommend investors keep a cool head. The challenge is to avoid overreacting to the elevated day-to-day volatility and remain focused on your financial plan. Central Banks have been in a holding pattern in anticipation of actions taken by President Trump, and therefore this announcement may have an impact on future Central Bank policy and interest rates. From a longer-term perspective, we may see implications for economic growth across various regions, however, it is too early to tell at this stage. From an investment standpoint, we continue to focus on the fundamentals, maintaining a long-term mindset, whilst paying attention to valuations. Market volatility can provide investors an opportunity to rethink their portfolios and find some better-valued investments with more attractive returns, however, it’s important to note that while selloffs will produce bargains, investors shouldn’t buy simply because stocks look less overvalued. Investment is always full of uncertainty, and therefore the Bovest solutions are constructed with this in mind. Valuations are key in our decision-making process, whereby our research process identifies return drivers from oversold assets, offering investors a high margin of safety. Against that, we also hold defensive assets that can add ballast to portfolios during periods of turbulence, including high quality government bonds and defensive equities such as consumer staples. Diversification continues to be a strong portfolio strategy in these times of uncertainty. Regards,  The Bovest Team

Inleiding Aftrede is onteenseglik ’n belangrike fase in ons lewens, en waarskynlik die belangrikste. Dit is die kulminasie van voorafgaande fases, soos opleiding en inkomsteskepping, en as ons nie gereed is vir hierdie fase nie, kan die lewe traumaties wees. Aftrede verg beplanning en beplanning is die gevolg van goeie gewoontes. Ons raad aan afgetredenes en mense wat beplan om af te tree, is om goeie gewoontes te kweek om hulle op die pad na ’n gelukkige aftrede te lei. Uit ons interaksie met kliënte wat op aftrede staan of reeds afgetree het, kon ons sien dat hierdie benadering prakties en logies is, met positiewe, tasbare gevolge. Baie faktore speel ’n rol in ’n gelukkige aftrede. In die VSA het ’n studie hierdie faktore gelys as goeie gesondheid, finansiële sekuriteit, liefdevolle familie en vriende en ’n doelgerigte of beplande aftrede - What Retirees Want. Dychtwald and Morison, 2022. p115. Hierdie aspekte word onder meer in hierdie boek aangespreek. By Bovest word kliënte se persoonlike omstandighede in ag geneem wanneer hulle finansiële advies vra. Ons wil mense help om hul finansiële situasie ten beste te benut om gelukkig te kan leef. Om gelukkig af te tree is egter nie ’n gegewe nie. Jy benodig persoonlike doelwitte wat opgevolg moet word met die begeerte om die nodige regte gewoontes aan te leer. Dit vereis dikwels dat jy bereid moet wees om van jou gevestigde gewoontes te verander. In die soeke na jou persoonlike geluk gaan jou gewoontes uniek wees. Hoe word Gewoontes Gevorm? Daar bestaan verskillende teorieë oor hoe om gewoontes suksesvol te vorm. By Bovest vind ons aanklank met James Clear se teorie soos vervat in sy boek Atomic Habits (Penguin Random House, London, 2018, pp47-48), wat vier stappe tot sukses verwoord: Stap 1: Raak bewus van ’n wenk, insig, doelwit of begeerte. Stap 2: Hunker om dit uit te voer. Stap 3: Wat is die reaksie wanneer jy dit uitvoer? Stap 4: Wat is jou beloning as jy dit uitvoer?  Kom ons kyk na’n voorbeeld van gewoonte-vorming: · Stap 1: Iemand wat aftree se doelwit is om waarde vir geld te soek – hulle ontleed voortdurend die omgewing waarbinne hulle leef en pas hul begrotings en maandelikse uitgawes oppersoonlike behoeftes voortdurend aan. · Stap 2: Daar word navorsing gedoen oor watter uitgawe die beste waarde vir die beskikbare geld bied. · Stap 3: Die aankope word aangepas en die afgetredene voel tevrede dat daar waarde vir geld verkry is. · Stap 4: Aangesien daar binne begoting opgetree is, is die beloning dat daar fondse beskikbaar is om op ander beplande aankope te spandeer. Indien die koop ’n winskoop was, kan ons daarmee spog en selfs deur ons vriende geprys word as ’n winskopie-jagter! Deur hierdie vier stappe te herhaal, sal ons in die toekoms met meer gemak optree tot gewoontes van gesonde finansiële bestuur redelik moeitevry gevorm word.

Introduction Retirement is undeniably an important phase of our lives, and probably the most important. It is the culmination of preceding phases such as training and income creation, and if we are not ready for this phase, life can be traumatic. Retirement requires planning, which is the result of good habits. Our advice to retirees and people who are planning to retire is to develop good habits that will put them on the road to a happy retirement. From our interaction with people on the point of retirement and others who have already retired, we were able to conclude that this approach is practical and logical, with positive, tangible results. Many factors play a role in a happy retirement. In the USA, a study listed good health, financial security, loving friends and family and a purposeful or planned retirement. A happy retirement is not a given. You need to have personal goals and pursue them with the desire to adopt the right habits. It often demands that you are willing to change some of your established habits. In your quest for personal happiness, your specific habits will be unique . How are Habits Formed? There are different theories on how new habits are successfully formed. At Bovest , we resonate with James Clear’s theory outlined in his book Atomic Habits (Penguin Random House, London, 2018, pp47-48), which gives four steps to success: Step 1: Your cue would be your goal or desire. Step 2: You have the craving to put it into action. Step 3: What is your response to your action? Step 4: What is your reward? Let’s look at an example of habit forming: Step 1: A person who is retiring aims to seek value for money – they are continually analysing their environment and adjusting their budgets and monthly expenditure on personal needs. Step 2: Research is done into which expenditure offers the best value for the money available. Step 3: The purchase is adjusted, and the retiree is satisfied that value for money has been obtained. Step 4: As this has been done within budget, the reward is that funds are available for other planned purchases. If the purchase was a bargain, the retiree can boast about it and be praised by friends for being a bargain hunter! By repeating these four steps, we will become more at ease with this behaviour until we have formed the habits of healthy financial management fairly easily.

March this year marked exactly 10 years since I joined Bovest back in 2015. After completing my B.com and honours degree, I first gained experience in the corporate world in Sandton, Johannesburg, before I joined our independent wealth management firm. Throughout the last 10 years I had the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life and from every interaction I learned something. Some inspired me and others deterred me. It’s a difficult task to summarise them, but here are 10 money lessons I’ve learned over the past 10 years: Money will not solve all your problems. On one specific morning I arrived at work at around 7am. The cleaning lady, who was whistling and singing greeted me politely while mopping the floor and going around her business. 30 minutes later we had a meeting with one of our wealthiest clients who was completely stressed out and upset about something his business partner did. The vast contract of the two people’s Net worth and state of mind was a reminder that money will not solve all your problem, neither will money alone make you happy. Having money does not make you a better person. I see it often, people who have a large amount of wealth, who has a prominent position at work or runs a successful company might often has an aura of importance around them. They will think their opinion carries more weight and that somehow the universal laws do not apply to them as strictly as the ‘normal’ person.  Money is NOT the root of all evil In contrast to the above 2 points, I see many wealthy people doing incredible noble things with their money. They provide food for the less fortunate, put children through college, create job opportunities for others 7 make the world a better place in various other ways. Without money this will not be possible. Having ambition does not make you materialistic. Talking about money, wanting to increase your income, or working hard to get promoted does not make you materialistic or egocentric. As humans we need to grow and aspire to be better that we were yesterday. It gives us purpose and direction. Money is on of the topics most often discussed in the Bible and making the best of your God-given talents is something we all should work towards. Don’t think small, because it makes others feel uncomfortable, we only have one shot in life. Tax planning plays a much bigger roles in investments than you think. I don’t know one single person who is happy to pay more taxes than he or she should, yet we often overlook the opportunities where we can minimise our tax payable. Paying less income tax is important, but for most parts out of our control, it’s saving tax on the growth and payouts of our investment where the big opportunities hide. Simple habits almost always guarantee success. Successful people are very good at focussing on their field of expertise, where they make their money and then outsourcing the rest. They don’t overcomplicate their finances, by trying to pick every hot stock or coin that is trending. They realise that automating their finances is incredibly powerful and treat their monthly investments like an expense, it automatically gets deducted from their bank account and they don’t need to waste their decision-making power on it. Compound interest cannot be overstated enough. We have all heard wonderful quotes about the power of compound interest and how your money can work for you. Yet most of us still lack the discipline and patience to allow it to work wonders in our portfolios. In every meeting I have with people close to retirement, who have given time the attention, they are in awe of how their money has grown in the latter part of their investment journey. We all are part of the ‘Money Game’ whether you want to play or not. If you bought something in the last 2 days, you are part of the economy, the money game. Money does not need to rule your every though, but ignorance is not bliss. Thinking that it’s noble to never talk about money or to think you don’t need money, will have serious consequences. In contrast, having a lot of money doesn’t mean you are winning at the game of money: If money is more important than your relationships, you’re not winning. If money influences your ethics, you are not winning. If your health is suffering in your pursuit of chasing money, you are not winning. Take control over your financial situation and not the other way around. Be aware of the ‘Lifestyle Creep’ Sometimes also called the “bracket creep” Throughout life you are bound to gradually earn more as the years go by, however the silent killer, less talked about side of the equation is the growth of our expenses. This often happens in small increments and without us realising it: You buy slightly more expensive gifts for your children, you drink more expensive wine, you go out to restaurants more often or you upgrade your brand of make-up or gadgets are home. While none of these are bad in principle, it is worth paying attention to them and invest, before you spend on you ‘Nice to haves’ Enjoy your money. This is probably the most simple and important lesson, but one that’s not easy to obtain. It’s only once you’ve mastered many other aspects of money and your mindset around finances that you can really enjoy your money in a guilt free manner that’s not guided by outside influences. Know yourself, know what will bring you joy, work hard, give to others and enjoy your money.

Industry studies estimate that professional financial advice can add up to 5.1% to portfolio returns over the long term, depending on the time period and how returns are calculated. But for most investors who choose to work with an advisor, advice is not just about investments. It's also about helping you pursue your goals, grow your wealth, and take care of the people who matter most to you. Here are 3 ways a good advisor can help make a difference in helping you reach your goals. 1. Works with you to create a personalized investment plan When you work with an advisor, you generally receive support from a dedicated professional who can help you bring your plan to life. An advisor will ask you about your personal and financial goals, and work with you to help answer questions such as: Are your spending and cash flow appropriate? What does financial protection mean to you, and how important is it? What does growth mean to you, and how important is it? Are your investments aligned with your preferences? How will you manage your investment portfolio? Together, you can develop a documented investment plan that articulates your long-term goals, short-term needs, risk tolerance, and personal values. This plan can act as a guide for future decision-making, and provides the advisor with information necessary to help you devise and document an appropriate asset allocation and, if applicable, a tax-sensitive investment strategy to help you invest in the asset classes and accounts that best suit your objectives and risk tolerance. Having a documented investment plan can be a big help in staying the course in times of uncertainty or volatility and can help an advisor provide the guidance and encouragement you may need to stay on track to avoid the sometimes costly mistakes investors can make during volatile markets. 2. Can help identify opportunities to help protect and grow your assets An advisor who understands your long-term goals is well-positioned to help you identify strategies and techniques that can help you grow and protect your wealth. This may include: Retirement income planning. Preparing for your future needs is essential to ensuring you can maintain your lifestyle throughout your lifespan. Tax-smart investments. Reducing the amount you pay in taxes can potentially help extend the life of your retirement savings and open up options for more growth.  3. Builds a relationship with you to better plan for your specific needs By getting to know you, your family, and your feelings about investing and your future, an advisor can better plan for your specific needs and help you adjust, amend, or extend your plan to keep it relevant as your circumstances change. An advisor can also help you evolve your plan as you prioritize new goals or manage life events, and help you manage risk and consider opportunities as markets or tax laws change. By scheduling regular check-ins, perhaps quarterly or semiannually, an advisor can help you to review whether your objectives and needs have remained the same or whether circumstances require you to update your plan. This can also be an opportunity for the advisor to connect you to specialists with experience with estate tax planning and personal trust services, to help develop a plan designed to help you keep more of your money and may be able to help protect your legacy for generations to come. A good advisor is a partner on your financial journey Financial advice is more than just numbers and investments. It's a process that can help you make a plan, chart your progress, and hopefully achieve your personal and financial goals—while feeling more confident along the way. Why wait? Connect with one of our professional advisors today.

Is retirement an out-of-date pipedream? With rising living costs and economic uncertainty in South Africa, it’s not surprising that people feel this way. But what we see as “retirement” is changing, the traditional retirement age of 65 has already started to look different because people live longer. We live in a time where passive income and part-time work is as easy as ever and done from anywhere. Although retirement is continually evolving it still is more important than ever to start investing as early as possible and stay consistent over the long-term. Employer matching your pension contributions, should you max it out? Yes definitely. It’s free investment allocations and effectively instantly doubles your contributions. The higher the contributions, the better the compounding effect of the capital. You can also deduct your employer’s contributions together with your own contributions in your annual income tax returns. Are there other ways to supplement your retirement income? There are many discretionary investment structures (non-retirement) that hold massive tax-and estate planning benefits. It's always a good idea to diversify in the structures that you use to invest because they can be so different. This is true for the actual assets as well, never have your eggs in one basket. Building a business or renting out property can also be effective but holds it’s own risks. Should you pick the most aggressive investment option for retirement? If you have time on your side, going more aggressive is the optimal long-term strategy if you can stomach short-term volatility in assets like shares. In South Africa, all pre-retirement structures must adhere to Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act and this does limit the level of risk you are able to take with your retirement funds, but alternative structures can supplement your risk appetite. Time in the market is always better than trying to time the market. What are common retirement investment mistakes? Starting too late. Not saving enough, at least 20% of your monthly income should be invested. Regularly switching between different funds and assets due to short-term volatility (bad investor behaviour). A lack of diversification. Failing to adjust your plan as you go – marriage, kids and inflation play a role. Ruvan J Grobler RFP™

Saving for retirement has become somewhat unappealing for many investors. This is due to the lack of flexibility and many moving parts that make it complex. Treasury has been trying to combat the flexibility issue with the introduction of the two-pot system in September 2024. These structures do however have major tax advantages. According to Section 11F of the Income Tax Act, you are allowed to deduct annual contributions made to any pension fund, providend fund or retirement annuity fund. The annual limits are set out as follows to the lesser of: (i) R350 000; (ii) 27,5% of the higher of – • remuneration; or • taxable income; or (iii) taxable income of that person before – • including any taxable capital gain. According to the provisions set out in Section 10C of the Income Tax act, contributions from previous years that were not deductible at the time will be carried forward to the current assessment year unless they were deducted from a retirement fund lump sum, withdrawal benefit, or offset against a compulsory annuity. Arrear contributions are added to the current year's contributions and treated accordingly. Ultimately, these disallowed contributions can be used to offset retirement income until the rollover is depleted. Because it is seen as a deduction against gross income, planning can be done in such a way that no income tax is payable for many years into retirement. The disallowed contribution can also be used to increase the tax-free portion of your 1/3 allowable retirement lump-sum. Important Considerations Upon the investor’s death, the beneficiaries of the annuity will have a choice. They may either take their portion in cash and pay the withdrawal tax, or they can proceed with the annuity. If they decide to take their portion in cash, that portion of the annuity will unfortunately be included in the estate. This consideration will make disallowed contributions less attractive for investors with offshore beneficiaries. Ruvan J Grobler RFP™ (PGDip Financial Planning)

March marks the start of the new Financial Year. It gives us a time to reset and evaluate the first 2 months of 2025. January and February are historically the 2 busiest months in the financial industry as clients set to get their finances in order and minimise their tax burden, mostly via Retirement annuities and Tax-Free savings. March now gives us the opportunity to start with a clean slate, to re-assess our new year's resolutions: What work and what didn’t. It’s a chance to not only set new goals but to create the right habits and systems. Over the decades so many get rich quick schemes ruined so many lives. Looking backwards it's easy to see that it was a fraudulent scheme, yet in the present, many people still get caught. We lack the discipline and patience. There are essentially 5 ingredients to guaranteed wealth creation: How early you start How much you invest The returns of the market How long you stay invested for & The withdrawals you make. 4 of these are entirely within our control, and we have more power than we think. However, it's when we try and speed up the system that things go wrong. Look after your money, don't just trust anyone and if it promises above 10% guaranteed return, be very careful. We will share more on this topic in one of our Podcast episodes, coming soon..

Gewoontes speel ’n beslissende rol om ’n gelukkige aftrede te verseker.. Nie alle mense het gedurende hul werkende loopbaan die regte gewoontes gevorm om hul volle potensiaal as afgetredenes te kan bereik nie. Hoe kan die regte gewoontes gevorm word? Deur die boek, “Gewoontes vir Gelukkige Aftrede” te lees, is ’n goeie beginpunt. Die boek is geskryf deur Riaan Botha en word uitgegee deur Bovest Wealth Management vir die gebruik van Bovest kliënte. Die inhoud van die boek gaan in die volgende nuusbriewe bespreek word. Hierdie boek gee erkenning aan die talle Bovest-kliënte wat oor die jare die gewoontes gevorm het om gelukkig te kan aftree. Hulle is vir ons ’n voorbeeld van mense vir wie aftrede die hoogtepunt in hul lewens is. Aftrede is onteenseglik ’n belangrike fase in ons lewens, en waarskynlik die belangrikste. Aftrede verg beplanning en beplanning is die gevolg van goeie gewoontes. Ons raad aan afgetredenes en mense wat beplan om af te tree, is om goeie gewoontes te kweek om hulle op die pad na ’n gelukkige aftrede te lei. Om gelukkig af te tree is egter nie ’n gegewe nie. Jy benodig persoonlike doelwitte wat opgevolg moet word met die begeerte om die nodige regte gewoontes aan te leer. Dit vereis dikwels dat jy bereid moet wees om van jou gevestigde gewoontes te verander. In die soeke na jou persoonlike geluk gaan jou gewoontes uniek wees.