Clear financial direction, rooted in Cape Town
We build retirement, tax and investment strategy for private clients and owner-managed businesses across the Western Cape — every recommendation backed by a documented model, not a hunch.
Standards you can verify, not just trust
FSCA Authorised — FSP 48972
Licensed as a Financial Services Provider under the FSCA, covering Category I and II advice. Our licence number is checkable on the FSCA public register.
Verifiable independently on the FSCA public register.
CFP® Practitioners
Lead advisers hold the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® designation through the FPI, requiring annual continuing-education hours and a formal code of ethics.
Bound by FPI's formal code of ethics and annual CPD hours.
SAICA-Affiliated Tax Practice
Tax structuring work is reviewed by a SAICA-registered practitioner (SARS practitioner number on file) before any recommendation is implemented.
Every structuring recommendation is practitioner-reviewed before filing.
POPIA-Compliant Data Handling
Client financial data is stored on South African servers, encrypted at rest, with a documented Information Officer and retention policy on request.
Your data stays in South Africa, encrypted, on a documented retention policy.
Professional Indemnity Cover
Carried at R10 million per claim through a licensed South African insurer — certificate available to clients on request before engagement.
R10 million per claim — certificate available before you engage us.
The plan changes depending on who you are
Private clients & families
Retirement funding ratios, estate liquidity planning, and education-cost modelling in real rand terms, reviewed annually against inflation and Reg 28 limits.
Owner-managed businesses
Separation of personal and business balance sheets, dividend-versus-salary structuring, and succession funding via buy-and-sell agreements.
Professional practices (medical, legal, engineering)
Locum-income smoothing, practice-value protection, and disability income structuring calibrated to profession-specific risk tables.
Retirement funds & trusts
Trustee-level reporting on fund liquidity, Reg 28 compliance, and independent fee-benchmarking against comparable umbrella funds.
Non-resident & expat South Africans
Financial emigration status review, Section 10(1)(o)(ii) exposure, and offshore allocation within SARB annual allowance limits.
How we quantify financial risk
Every engagement starts with a scored baseline across five weighted criteria. You see the raw numbers before we recommend a single product.
| Criterion | Weight | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Liquidity buffer | 25% | Months of essential expenses held in cash-equivalent instruments, scored against a 3–6 month target range. |
| Debt-to-income ratio | 20% | Total serviced debt as a percentage of gross monthly income, benchmarked against the 36% affordability guideline used by SA lenders. |
| Tax efficiency ratio | 20% | Effective tax rate against the theoretical minimum achievable using retirement, TFSA and section 12J-successor structures currently available. |
| Retirement funding ratio | 20% | Projected retirement capital against a 70% income-replacement target, discounted at a real return assumption of 4.5% p.a. |
| Estate liquidity score | 15% | Cash and liquid assets available to cover estate duty, executor fees and CGT at death without a forced asset sale. |
Five steps, no shortcuts
Discovery & data audit
We collect three years of statements, policies and payslips and reconcile them into a single balance sheet — most clients are surprised by what this alone reveals.
Risk & tax modelling
Your baseline is scored against our five metrics and compared to SARS and FSCA thresholds relevant to your situation.
Strategy design
A written strategy document with named products, fee disclosures and projected outcomes over 5, 10 and 20 years — no verbal-only recommendations.
Implementation
We execute policy applications, trust registrations or restructuring directly with providers, and confirm each step in writing.
Quarterly review cycle
Your five metrics are re-scored every quarter; the plan is adjusted in writing, not left to drift for a year at a time.
From R14.2m in undocumented retirement assets to a single audited plan
Eleven products, four providers, 28 years
A Constantia-based couple, both in their late 50s, arrived with eleven separate retirement products spread across four providers going back 28 years — no consolidated statement existed, and two policies had lapsed without their knowledge.
Reconstruction and consolidation
We reconstructed the full asset register, recovered R380,000 in a dormant preservation fund, and consolidated the remainder into a two-product structure aligned to Reg 28. Effective tax rate on contributions dropped from 31% to 22% within the first filing year.
Funding ratio nearly doubled
Retirement funding ratio moved from 41% to 79% of the 70% income-replacement target within 18 months, with zero change to household take-home pay. Estate liquidity score improved from "critical" to "adequate".
Questions clients ask us most
Gardens Reach Advisory (Pty) Ltd is authorised by the FSCA as a Financial Services Provider under licence FSP 48972. You can verify this directly on the FSCA's public register before engaging us.
We work primarily on a fixed advisory fee, disclosed in rand terms before implementation. Where a product carries commission, it is disclosed and, where possible, offset against our fee.
We don't set a hard minimum, but our process is built for households and businesses with R1.5 million or more in combined investable assets, where consolidation typically pays for itself within a year.
Both. Our lead tax adviser is a SARS-registered practitioner and can file structuring changes directly, though we always work alongside your existing accountant rather than replacing them.
Your financial data stays on encrypted South African servers, is never sold or shared with third-party marketers, and is retained only as long as legally required — full detail in our Privacy Policy.
Yes — we regularly work through financial emigration status, SARB allowance limits and Section 10(1)(o)(ii) exemptions for South Africans working abroad.
Every quarter, in writing, with your five risk metrics re-scored. Most advisory relationships go quiet after year one — ours is structured so that can't happen.
Nine years of documented outcomes
Book a first consultation
The first meeting is 45 minutes, unpaid, and ends with a written summary of what a scored baseline would look like for your situation — no obligation to proceed.
- 45 minutes, unpaid, ends with a written summary.
- No obligation to proceed after the first meeting.
- We reply within one business day, Monday to Friday.