South African children to benefit from unused shares and bonds

Monica Singer, CEO of Strate.

With just a week post the national Budget Speech, we would be ignorant to think that changes to taxes and consumables made by Minister Pravin Gordhan will not change the way we look at our financial portfolios and budgets. And with this comes some reassessing and a spring-clean. This exercise may reveal to investors that they have a small percentage of undesirable shares and bonds that they may wish to donate to a securities donation programme rather than undergoing the tedious process of selling, given that these securities are often more costly to sell than they are worth. Not only does this provide investors with a tax benefit, it also makes a significant change in the recipient’s life.

“Optimising your investment portfolio should be a priority; and it is on this premise that we founded the Strate Charity Shares (SCS) programme. Ultimately, this solution was borne by realising there was a need to address the long-standing problem of investors holding on to small and undesirable shares and bonds, whether they are in certificate or electronic form.” says Monica Singer, CEO, Strate.

Prior to the SCS programme, investors who wanted to dispose of their unwanted shares were discouraged by the cost of selling them; and as a result, thousands of Rands were tied up in assets that cost more to sell than they were worth.

The programme allows investors to cash in their shares and all proceeds received are donated to a wide range of charities across South Africa, all of which focus specifically on the special care of children. Over the years, Strate Charity Shares has managed to distribute in excess of R6 million to a number of worthy causes, changing the lives of these children, by providing them with food, shelter, necessities and education.

“The donations serve over eight charities that have historically been the recipients of these donations,” says Singer. “We would like to extend our appreciation to all those involved in making a change in a child’s life through SCS. We also want to encourage more and more South Africans to donate their unwanted shares and get involved in this worthy cause,” continued Singer.

Clients can get involved by contacting SCS, either directly, or through their broker, to donate their shares. They can also receive a tax benefit for doing so. In terms of Section 18(A) of the Income Tax Act, when investors donate their shares to SCS, they are issued a receipt that can be claimed against their taxation liability.