FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR PREDATOR?

When the time came for me to retire from the Government Employees Pension Fund, I wanted my pension pay out to be managed by Allan Gray Asset Managers. I called Allan Gray Asset Managers for assistance. I was informed by the official at Allan Gray that I should get a financial advisor because Allan Gray is not allowed to give financial advice. That was a serious mistake because Allan Gray does accept direct clients.

So, when officials from FEROX came to my place of employment, a government hospital in Krugersdorp, to offer assistance to GEPF members I asked for assistance. I met one of the two managers of the abovementioned closed corporation. He offered to assist with the transfer of my pension into an Allan Gray preservation fund. That is all I needed because I was always under the impression that Allan Gray Asset Managers had fund managers who handled everything to do with an investment.

His persistent reply to my questions of how much he was going charge me was, Allan Gray is going to pay me a commission. That is what I understood with regards to fees. I blindly signed documents that he prepared in which he appointed himself as an active daily financial advisor. He even offered and convinced me to sign over my retirement annuity with Oldmutual to him as an administrator.

It was when I noticed a huge withdrawal from my pension pay-out at Allan Gray that I asked questions. I was told it was for the FEROX financial advisor fees. The penny dropped painfully.

My heart sank when I realized that I had become one of countless pensioners who had felt victim to predation that has become endemic in the dark world of financial advice.

To pensioners, I recommend the utmost caution when dealing with " financial advisors". I went in with blind trust, I got eaten.

I am not aware of even a tiny shred of information that I can regard as valuable financial advice that I got from this puny closed corporation, but the manager is adamant that offering me, at a ridiculously exorbitant price, a service that I could have handled myself with a little guidance is correct.