South Africans need banking & investing beyond borders

Since the lifting of exchange controls over a decade ago, an increasing number of South Africa’s high net worth individuals have been placing an increasing proportion of their wealth offshore – but this hasn't been without its challenges. These clients have been unable to consolidate their financial affairs – be it banking, financing or investments – particularly in different jurisdictions. The end result is multiple accounts, investment managers and bankers along with diverse and time intensive correspondence to manage.

With the announcement of its pioneering One Place strategy, Investec now offers clients seamless, integrated access to Private Banking as well as Wealth & Investment services anywhere in the world. While many Investec clients are locally based, they are not restricted by national boundaries in their lifestyles or in their income generation and preservation. They ultimately live and work where it suits them, often on more than one continent and therefore do not view international borders as a hindrance to their earning capacity.

“Up until the late 90s South Africans were severely limited by exchange control regulations that prevented offshore investing. Since the abolishment of these controls, South Africans have been allowed to externalise prescribed amounts of money – currently R4 million per taxpayer per year and Private Clients also have an additional discretionary amount of R1 million per year – and have therefore had to forge relationships with new institutions offshore,” says Head of Wealth & Investment SA, Henry Blumenthal.

These ‘global citizens’ have historically faced administrative red tape caused by increased bank and regulatory security across international borders, multi-jurisdictional estate planning and anti-money laundering requirements.

Answering these needs, the creation of One Place has brought together the top minds across the business to deliver a fully integrated, international service offering that includes Banking (lending, cash investments, transactions, Forex, Private Capital and Property Finance), as well as Investments (Wealth Management, Portfolio Management, Stockbroking and Offshore Investments). Investec clients can now bring the management of their international finances together under one roof through their preferred channel – whether it’s mobile or tablet apps, the Investec Online platform, the 24/7 Global Client Support Centre or specialist Private Bankers and Investment Managers.

The introduction of the One Place digital facility further enables and enhances Investec’s objective of providing seamless service in banking and wealth management and protection on a global basis. “A key advantage of One Place is that it allows clients to access all of Investec’s services and those of other financial institutions from one digital platform allowing them to effectively control and manage their finances,” says Head of Investec Private Bank SA, Ryan Tholet.

One Place allows Investec clients to:

1. Receive investment advice and access to services from a single specialist Investment Manager based either in South Africa or abroad. This includes both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolios, stockbroking services and portfolio management.

2. Apply for a UK Private Bank account if they need a UK transactional bank account from which to easily invest offshore, receive income in the UK or want to keep funds offshore. This offering is also ideal for South African clients who travel to the UK frequently, have dependents living in the UK or often make purchases on UK websites.

3. Consolidate all day-to-day financial affairs and wealth management on a single secure digital platform, whether they may be assets held on an Investec platform or the platform of any other financial institution. Clients are also able to add physical assets, such as property and valuables, or those held by other institutions, while being able to keep track of and categorise their historical spending and loyalty programme activity. Asset values and liabilities are constantly updated and are instantly convertible to major foreign currencies.

4. Securely operate and manage bank accounts (both local and foreign), including interest-earning current, credit card and money market accounts, in most jurisdictions off a single entry point allowing, among many other facilities, instantaneous switching of funds between Investec accounts, efficient electronic fund transfer (EFT), record keeping with a long term auditing ability and classification and details of payment recipients.

5. Securely access all the Investec services digitally via cellular telephone and tablet applications as well as via the Investec website: www.investec.com.

With a dual listing on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges, Investec is a FTSE 250 company, with offices across the globe and its main operations in the United Kingdom and Southern Africa. Using cutting edge digital technology to offer its services to an ever-increasing audience of wealthy global citizens, Investec has become a truly international private bank. In the UK, Wealth & Investment is the third largest private client investment manager with £27 billion under management whilst the South African business holds the leading position with assets in excess of R250 billion in SA.

Investec’s substantial international footprint – covering Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, Mauritius,Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, Namibia, Botswana, Canada, Taiwan and the United States – together with its innovative seamless environment mean benefits that meet the needs of its global citizens.