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Nicholas Atkins - Financial Advisor

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Nicholas Atkins - Financial Advisor

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Helping individuals, families and business owners build and protect wealth through personalised financial advice. Build your wealth. Protect your future.

From investments and retirement planning to life cover, wills and estate planning. Leave a legacy.

26/10/2026

SARS knows your Digital Financial Footprint.
You can spend a lifetime building wealth… and still leave your family with a financial nightmare.

Your house, investments and life policies are only part of the picture. What about cryptocurrency, online businesses and digital assets that your family might not even know you own?

SARS-related complications, unexpected tax issues and delays in winding up an estate can turn an already difficult time into an even bigger burden for your loved ones.

https://nicthefa.co.za/sars-digital-assets-estate-planning/

21/10/2026

R6 MILLION ALLEGEDLY STOLEN FROM GRIEVING FAMILIES

A shocking case highlights the risks families face when administering deceased estates.

An Eastern Cape businesswoman was accused of taking nearly R6 million from 14 deceased estates between 2021 and 2023. The money was allegedly diverted into personal and company accounts.

According to later court reporting, she pleaded guilty to 14 counts of theft and was convicted in July 2026.

⚠️ The lesson? Estate planning doesn't end with a will. Make sure the people handling your estate are properly vetted, funds are accounted for, and beneficiaries are protected. Trust a fiduciary services company, trust Capital Legacy

Protect your legacy. Protect your family.

20/10/2026

Did you know most South Africans simply cannot retire? A powerful Newsday video featuring financial expert Magnus Haystack breaks down exactly why.

I’ve been saying this for years — my own father couldn’t retire and was still working well into his seventies.
As South Africans we’re living longer, yet we don’t save enough. The video highlights how much of our wealth has been drained, and how our social safety net is stretched thin, largely supporting people who never worked, don’t work, or won’t work. Unlike countries that can lean on stronger systems, we don’t have that luxury.

Retirement now costs a fortune, especially if we keep prioritising short-term lifestyle spends like the latest flat-screen TV.
The message is clear: start planning early, save consistently, and take control of your future.

Want help mapping out a realistic retirement plan? Call or WhatsApp me on 061 547 7237, email [email protected], or visit nicthefa.co.za. Let’s get your future on course.

14/10/2026

Why are South African investors flocking to overseas bonds when our bonds did fantastically well last year?

Well, they aren't doing well any more and have been absolutely thrashed this year! But what does that mean?

Check the video. Find out
https://nicthefa.co.za/

13/10/2026

What is the difference between a guaranteed retirement fund and a market linked retirement fund?

Well the usual route you get in a company pension, provident or even your own retirement fund is something in the market. I am quite partial to Inn8 and FairTree funds along with my secret weapons in there. The growth depends on the market. For example - when Hormuz happened, I had to hide my clients in S.A. property funds and specialised offshore funds to escape the crash in the market that has kept going and shown the S.A. economy to be a smaller fry than we thought after record years in 2024 and 2025.

With the Liberty Exact Income Fund, as an example, you can get your retirement income guaranteed now, for your actual retirement. This means whatever rate you get when you enter the fund (9% for example) is the rate that continues even when people in example above are dragging the line with 5% rate of return thanks to global instability.

But if you enter a guaranteed fund, you are also shielded from the growth of things like SpaceX dropping their IPO. Basically, you don't get to taste that rainbow.

Pro's and Con's of doing a guaranteed fund: You escape volatility and the rat race of checking your investment shares. This is a pro and a con the way I see it. However it also makes retirement more stable the closer you get to it. no more worrying. This also helps planning when you reach some one like me.

See the below to find out more:
https://nicthefa.co.za/liberty-exact-income-fund/

29/09/2026

The JSE has struggled this year compared to last year. But there are shining lights in this dark period.
Monday the 28th of October 2026 had a huge down turn in the S.A. market. When this happens, what is your advisors defensive strategy? How much offshore exposure can you maneuver around?
Different products are limited in different ways:
- Retirement annuity has a total offshore limit of 45% and each insurance company has their own offshore feeder funds and private equity strategies.
- Open investments (unit trusts) must not be used for retirement strategies where you don't get the tax benefits of Retirement annuity products, but this means that it will go up and down with these market fluctuations, so take as much of it offshore as possible.
- Who's offshore strategy works best based on where are they invested and in what wrapper?

Let's look through your current strategy to protect your family assets and your businesses.
https://nicthefa.co.za/

26/09/2026

I had the pleasure of attending the 2026 INN8 Investment Summit a little while ago. I attended the 2025 one as well, and I was ready with my questions this time. Each fund manager had a chance to do a display stand where they present their funds, performance, strategy, and philosophy when it comes to investing. Then they also have a panel throughout their day where they get to argue. Which is the real crux of the event for someone like me.
Some funds believe in bonds over the long run, some believe in the South African Equity market - Some believe in indexes and ETF's. These are the ideas that are on view during each funds presentation and the chat that follows.
I always manage to stop by 1nvest SA stall as one of my favorites to get their future market insights, and just have a chat in general.
Last year I was impressed by Bateleur Capital's presentation and ethos, and thanks to that I managed to stop by their stand on the day to find out how the strategy has worked out ytd - very well in the funds I was impressed by.
Another Capital management company that impressed me was Fairtree, something I overlooked in 2025, but this year I thought was one of the top contenders for my investment practice going forward based on their philosophy. I won't mention each company by name, down a list - but I am impressed with all, but one.

Thank you to the time put into the event by Inn8 and for continuously bringing us the vision of growth from these perspectives.
I also enjoyed Kevin Lings opening presentation that gave us a lot to chew on during the entire summit, very insightful, as always. And thanks to almost finishing my next degree in wealth management, I was able to absorb the information a lot better than last year 😅 .

Excited for the future of investing in S.A. and value from our South African partners, and I look forward to the next one.

25/09/2026

DO YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE LIVING ANNUITY?

You may want to pay attention to what SARS is proposing.

A current rule allows a living annuity with a remaining value below R150,000 to potentially be paid out as a lump sum. The proposed change would aggregate multiple living annuities held with the same insurer or fund when applying that threshold.
Let's make it simple.

You have:

R110,000 with Insurer A

R60,000 with Insurer A
= R170,000

Under the proposed approach, that combined R170,000 would be assessed together.

But if you also have R100,000 with Insurer B, that separate annuity would not simply be added to the Insurer A total. The insurer matters.

Why is SARS looking at this?

Because multiple small annuities could previously be treated separately, potentially allowing someone to cash out amounts that collectively exceed the intended R150,000 threshold.

Now, before anyone starts making retirement decisions based on a Facebook post:

THIS IS STILL A PROPOSAL.

The legislation has not yet been passed or implemented, and the wording may still change.

But this is exactly why retirement planning needs to be reviewed periodically.

Old policies. Multiple providers. Different advisers. Previous employers.

Over 20 or 30 years, retirement planning can become complicated very quickly.

Know what you own. Know how it is structured. Know what it could mean for you.

If you have multiple retirement investments, let's review the bigger picture.

NicTheFA | https://nicthefa.co.za/contact-nicthefa/
0615477237

24/09/2026

RETIREMENT ISN’T JUST ABOUT THE MARKET. IT’S ABOUT YOUR PLAN.

Global markets are still being supported by strong earnings and economic growth. But underneath the surface, risks are building — higher bond yields, inflation, government debt, market valuations and heavy concentration in technology.

South Africa has its own opportunities, with improving fiscal conditions, commodity prices and relatively high real interest rates. But even here, the easy gains may already have happened.

So what should you do?

Stop trying to predict every move the market will make. Start making sure your retirement plan is prepared for different market conditions.

Think of retirement like farming. You can't control the seasons — but you can control the soil, irrigation, diversification and protection you put in place.

Your retirement strategy should answer five important questions:

Am I contributing enough?
Is my portfolio properly diversified?
How much of my retirement capital is exposed globally?
What happens if markets fall just before I retire?
And what income will my retirement capital actually provide?

Time in the market matters. So does managing risk as retirement approaches.

Because having a big retirement balance is only part of the equation.

The real question is: what will that money do for you when your salary stops?

If you haven't had your retirement strategy properly reviewed, let's work out where you stand — and what needs to change.

Build your wealth. Protect your future. Leave a legacy.
Independent advice. Tailored for your future.

22/09/2026

The part people miss about financial freedom is that it usually doesn’t arrive in one dramatic moment.

It’s built through boring decisions repeated for years.

Lowering high-interest debt.

Keeping lifestyle inflation under control.

Building an emergency fund.

Increasing retirement contributions when income rises.

Investing consistently instead of waiting for the “perfect” time.

Creating additional income without depending on it to survive.

And most importantly, giving those decisions enough time to compound.

$500,000 by 2030 will not be realistic for everyone, especially if someone is starting from zero today.

But the bigger idea is still powerful:

Your financial position four years from now can look completely different if your habits change now.

Investor.gov notes that regular investing plus time is one of the core ways wealth compounds, while diversification can help manage investment risk. 0

You may not control markets, interest rates or the economy.

But you can control how much debt you carry, how much of every raise you keep, and whether your money gets a chance to grow.

Financial freedom rarely starts with a huge paycheck.

It starts with a plan you can actually stick to.

Address

The Campus, 57 Sloane Avenue , Bryanston
Sandton
2191

Opening Hours

Monday	09:00 - 16:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 16:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 16:00
Thursday	09:00 - 04:00
Friday	09:00 - 15:30

Website

https://nicthefa.co.za/can-you-retire/

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