Lion Of Africa

An investment to suit your pocket

Posted by: lion

As inflation rises and prices of consumer goods increase, consumers are anxiously looking at their budgets and considering where to cut back. As much as cutting back on savings or not saving at all may seem like a good idea in the short-term to cover day-to-day expenses, in the long-term, it is not good for retirement planning.

Managing ones personal finance is important for those close to retirement, those who may be planning to change employers and most important for those just starting out. Finding an investment solution that makes adequate provision is no longer a challenge as consumers have access to a range of retirement annuity products to suit individual budgets.

"Lion of Africa is aware that consumers have had to adjust their spending patterns and as a result have recently launched the Lion of Africa Retirement Annuity backed by the Lion of Africa Real Return CPI + 5 Fund as a cost-effective retirement savings vehicle," says Karen Louw, CEO of Lion of Africa Life Assurance. The primary objective of the Fund is to preserve purchasing power whilst delivering real returns; hence it is ideally suited to those who want to avoid significant market volatility.

Louw adds that with a minimum monthly debit order investment of R100, this product allows consumers who operate off a tight budget to start saving for the future. The minimum lump sum investment is R5 000.

"In the Lion of Africa Real Return CPI + 5 Fund we use an investment approach proven to beat inflation which, after all, is what investment is about," says Louw. Consumers have access to a comprehensive spread of investment funds that is structured to deliver risk averse retirement savings. This product uses a lot of inflation-linked bonds and cash to ensure very few negative monthly returns. It makes no use of derivatives, so only has a small exposure to shares and reduces that exposure when there is too much risk, regardless of the ‘opportunity'. The Fund's target is a return of inflation plus 5% per annum over any three year rolling period.

The Lion of Africa Retirement Annuity is tax efficient as contributions are tax deductible within certain limits. In addition low administration fees are charged.

The Lion of Africa Real Return CPI + 5 Fund is also available through Lion of Africa Fund Manager's Unit Trust offering.