"STONEWALL INTERNATIONAL"
With international markets in a state of disarray, leaving investors
in a quandary as to how to capitalize on a weakening Rand (and boy is
it weak !), and of course, South Africa’s increasingly large entry
into the "Global" arena via listed companies, the Brantam Group believe
that our research has lead us along the correct path, which has resulted
in a total re-think on how to approach this diverse market.
Our investment techniques, which we have honed over the past 14 years
have allowed us to develop our fund range even further, and it is with
pride that we can finally announce the launch of a fully fledged series
of international funds which will compliment any investment portfolio.
As for our local range of funds which we launched 6 years ago, the
ability to be able to “wrap” up a suite of global Mutual Funds has
taken some time to put together, but, just as our suite of funds
locally have given us an edge in SA, so we feel that, by applying
this knowledge gleaned over the years, plus having the expertise
in Mutual Fund management of AOS International, we feel that we
have a winner.
Question – who are AOS International ?
Automated Outsourcing Services are a company under the very successful
M3 Capital Holdings banner, one of the largest asset managers in South
Africa (± R 33 billion under administration). They have been instrumental
in changing thinking in South Africa on how to administer unit trust funds,
and have also been actively involved in offshore management through
companies such as Scottish Life and SEI, one of the largest Multi-Managers
world wide. This knowledge will be used in the administration of the Brantam
portfolio’s.
Question - how safe would my funds be in a Brantam International portfolio ?
Similarly to the local funds, your international investment will be
housed in a nominee account through Guernroy Ltd, a division of Royal
Bank of Canada who are the ultimate custodians, and function within a
separate legal entity. Each investment made by yourself is thus housed
within the nominee account in your (the client’s) name. Consequently,
all investments made into the nominee account are totally unaffected by
the financial status of Brantam, the administrator (AOS) or the custodian
(Royal Bank of Canada), as the structure is designed to provide the investor
with the highest degree of financial protection.
Question – who actually manages my money, and is it cost effective to have so many “arms” involved ?
Through the mandate which you will be required to sign, you will empower
the Brantam management team to manage your portfolio for you. Your only
risk is thus the actual investment performance of the portfolio (see
portfolio breakdown below) that you will have selected. Remember, though,
that at NO time does Brantam, the administrator or the custodian, physically
hold any investments in their own names, and act merely in a facilitating
position.
To summarise, your investment “risk” will thus be in terms of the
mandate which you will need to sign upon making any international
investment. If you elect to go in to the high risk portfolio because
you believe that the markets are at a low, and thus have upside potential,
and indicate this on your mandate, you will not be able to then hold
Brantam liable should the markets crash even further. However, please
be aware that we will always be in a position to guide you through this
selection, and will caution you against any rash moves if we see fit to do so.
Note, also, that these portfolios are continually being re-weighted,
hence the fact that asset allocations can fluctuate from week to week
as the markets move. Consequently, unit prices on the funds will also
change daily. Despite these changes, however, the original mandates for
each fund will be strictly adhered to at all times. Attached please find
a brief narrative on the 3 funds with their present asset allocation.
As to charges, no, there are no onerous added fees because of multiple
persons involved. In fact, if you have a look at the fee structure further
on, and have had experience of fees charged through other institutions,
you will probably find that ours are of the lowest in the industry !
As with any investment, the costing structure is an integral part of
the ultimate performance. Despite numerous newspaper reports by prominent
journalists, it is our belief that the Funds Performance are well
"priced" and extremely competitive. However, for your own sake, it is
always important to make comparisons to ensure that you are getting the
best deal available.
To be absolutely fair to all, our fees are calculated on a sliding
scale, and depending on the situation, can be negotiated down from
the following. The "situations" that could precipitate this would
be business volumes (i.e. more than one potential deal within a group)
etc. - nothing is cast in stone !
INITIAL ENTRY FEES: * Excluding VAT
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Gross
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$ 0 - $ 10 000
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3.50 %
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$ 10 000 - $ 30 000
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2.35 %
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$ 30,000 - $ 100 000
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1.80 %
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$ 100 001 +
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1.60 %
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NOTE:
Any existing investment already held with Brantam will be
eligible to move across into the funds as described. As we (Brantam)
will have already earned an initial entry in the past, the above initial
fees will NOT apply, and it has been agreed that all these funds will
be eligible to transfer at a flat rate of 1.00 %. This fee does not
include anything for Brantam, and is merely a handling fee imposed
by the various fund houses that we use, and is thus beyond our control.
OTHER FEES APPLICABLE
ANNUAL MANAGEMENT FEES: These are constantly under negotiation with
the administrators, but for the present moment, there is a flat fee
of 1.00 % per annum being levied, deducted monthly at a rate of 0.0833
%. Amounts in excess of R 5,0 million are open for negotiation.
SWITCHING FEES: Having multiple portfolio's would be worthless if we
did not have the facility to move freely between them as the market
dictates. This will attract an administration fee not exceeding 1.00 %
(and could be lower depending on the house that we are switching from
and to) of the value of the assets at the time of the switch. Note this
fee may well be lower, as some of the financial institutions that we may
select from time to time do have lower rates.
PORTFOLIOS
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PORTO Low Risk; Income generation:
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As for our “Classic Port”, this fund is aimed at the
investor who has a low risk tolerance and does not
want exposure to global equities. This portfolio will,
on average, be predominantly invested in cash and bonds.
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Global Bond Funds
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40.00%
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Low Risk Hedge Funds
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20.00%
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Low Risk Equity funds
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10.00%
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Cash
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30.00%
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MERLOT Medium Risk
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A medium risk fund aimed at providing some protection against
sudden volatility, however, with a flavour of equity built in
to provide upside potential. This should be considered a 3 – 5
year term portfolio.
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Global Bond Funds
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30.00%
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Low Risk Hedge Funds
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35.00%
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Medium Risk Equity
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30.00%
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Aggressive Equity
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5.00%
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INVESTMENT HOUSES:
The current list of Brantam approved investment houses are as follows :
Invesco GT (nothing to do with Investec)
Fidelity
Franklin Templeton
Investec International
NIB International Hedge Fund managers
EIM Multi Hedge Fund managers
Amongst this lot, we have access to over 200 funds worldwide,
offering diversity amongst ALL asset classes such as global
bonds, both corporate and sovereign; money markets in all
denominations; equity funds in all geographic regions; all
aspects of “theme” funds such as Leisure, IT, healthcare etc.
The choice of investment houses could obviously change from
time to time, however, the current list tend to represent
all that we require to provide you with diversification,
so there should not be too many changes.
Lastly, the above 3 portfolio’s can be accessed via your
R 750 000 allowance in SA Rands OR directly from an offshore
source. Brantam will naturally assist in obtaining all the
necessary tax clearance certificates etc.
For more information, contact a Brantam advisor on :
info@brantam.co.za
Tel: 27 11 789 1255
Fax: 27 11 789 1292
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