Investing R5 million or more
Your wealth has built up over a career or a business, and it now sits in several places: retirement annuities, a pension or provident fund, a preservation fund, unit trusts and shares in your own name, money offshore, perhaps property. Each part was probably chosen at a different time, for a different reason. This page sets out the decisions that matter most when it all becomes one plan.
How should you invest R5 million or more in South Africa?
As one plan, not as a collection of products. Start from the income and goals the money has to serve, then decide how much sits in retirement funds, in your own name and offshore, in what order you will draw from each, and what the whole arrangement costs. At this level, structure, tax and fees often matter as much as which fund you choose.
In short
I work primarily with individuals and families who have accumulated meaningful retirement and investment assets and want considered advice on where it goes next.
Your savings sit in several places: retirement annuities, a pension or provident fund, investments in your own name. You want them to become one dependable, tax-efficient income.
You want to know your drawdown is sustainable, your income is drawn in the right order, and your capital is invested for the decades ahead.
An inheritance, a retirement package or the sale of a business or property. A large, one-off decision that deserves a considered plan.
You already have an adviser or manage your own portfolio, and want an objective review of the strategy, the costs and the structure.
How much to hold abroad, in which structures, using the annual allowances, and how offshore assets fit your tax and retirement plan.
Your wealth is tied up in a business. Planning how it becomes personal, diversified and retirement-ready wealth, in the right order.
There is no single right percentage: it depends on where you will spend your money, how much currency risk you can carry and what else you own. Inside retirement annuities and preservation funds, Regulation 28 caps offshore at 45%. Money in your own name can be invested directly abroad under the annual allowances, or through South African funds that invest abroad. The offshore section below explains the difference.
Usually in the order that costs the least tax over your whole retirement, not just this year. Living annuity income is taxed in full at your marginal rate, while a withdrawal from investments in your own name is mostly your own capital, with only the gain taxed. In the worked example on the Preparing for retirement page, the same R1 million a year costs about R141 000 less tax when it is drawn from both.
Look at the total, not each layer on its own: advice, platform administration and the funds' own charges add up. Ask for the Effective Annual Cost of each product, which brings them together in one percentage. On a large portfolio a small difference in percentage is a large amount in rand, as the table below shows. The cheapest arrangement is not always the best one; what matters is what you receive for the cost.
Usually fewer than a portfolio built up over many years ends up holding. Several funds can own the same shares, so you pay more than one set of fees for the same exposure. What matters is how the funds differ from each other: asset classes, regions and investment styles. A fund that holds the same things as the others adds cost, not diversification.
Differently. Growth inside a retirement annuity, preservation fund or living annuity is not taxed, and income tax is paid as you draw; contributions to retirement funds are deductible within annual limits. In your own name, interest above the annual exemption is taxed at your marginal rate, local dividends have dividends tax withheld, and gains are taxed when you sell, after a R50 000 annual exclusion, with 40% of the rest added to your taxable income.
Make the plan before you invest it. An inheritance, a business sale or a retirement package is a one-off decision: first decide what the money is for, how much of it has to produce an income, and how it will sit alongside what you already own. That decides how much goes into retirement funds, how much stays in your own name and how much goes offshore. While the plan is made, the money can wait somewhere simple and accessible.
The total annual cost of a portfolio is usually quoted as a percentage. On a larger portfolio, the same percentage is a large amount of money. The table is simple arithmetic for one year: portfolio value multiplied by the total annual cost.
| Portfolio | 1.0% a year | 1.5% a year | 2.0% a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| R5 million | R50 000 a year | R75 000 a year | R100 000 a year |
| R10 million | R100 000 a year | R150 000 a year | R200 000 a year |
| R20 million | R200 000 a year | R300 000 a year | R400 000 a year |
The same rand is taxed differently depending on where it sits. Most families with substantial savings use several of these, and the plan decides how much goes where.
| Where the money sits | Access | While it is invested | When you take money out | Offshore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retirement annuity or preservation fund | A retirement annuity from age 55; a preservation fund under its rules | Growth is not taxed. Retirement annuity contributions are deductible within annual limits | Cash at retirement is taxed on the lump sum table: the first R550 000 of all your lump sums is tax-free (2026/27). The rest buys an annuity | Regulation 28: up to 45% |
| Living annuity | An income of 2.5% to 17.5% of the value a year | Growth is not taxed | The income is taxed at your marginal rate | Not bound by Regulation 28, although providers can set their own limits |
| Unit trusts and shares in your own name | At any time | Interest above the annual exemption is taxed at your marginal rate. Local dividends have dividends tax withheld | Gains are taxed when you sell: a R50 000 annual exclusion, then 40% of the gain is added to your taxable income | Through South African funds that invest abroad, or directly under the allowances |
| Tax-free savings account | At any time, but money withdrawn cannot be put back without using up your contribution limits | No tax on interest, dividends or growth | No tax | Through South African funds that invest abroad |
| Endowment | Withdrawals are limited during the initial restriction period | Tax is paid inside the policy by the insurer, not by you | No further tax for you on the proceeds | Local and offshore endowments are both available |
| Offshore, held directly | At any time | Foreign interest and dividends are taxed in South Africa | Gains are taxed under the same capital gains rules | Up to R2 million a calendar year (single discretionary allowance) and up to R10 million more with an approved SARS tax compliance (AIT) PIN |
There are two ways to invest abroad, and they work differently.
Direct offshore. You move rand out of South Africa and hold the investment in your own name, in another currency. A resident adult can use the single discretionary allowance of up to R2 million a calendar year, and up to R10 million a year more under the foreign investment allowance with an approved SARS tax compliance status (AIT) PIN.
Asset swap. You invest in rand through a South African fund or platform that holds foreign assets. Your exposure is offshore, but the money stays in the South African system: it does not use your allowances, and you buy and sell in rand.
Which suits you depends on what the money is for: spending or living abroad later, leaving assets to children who live overseas, or spreading currency and market risk. Assets held abroad in your own name can also mean a separate estate process in that country when you die, so the structure matters as much as the amount.
Offshore investing for South African retirees: how much, where, and the tax rules → · Investing offshore from South Africa: a practical guide →
Every strategy on this page is also available in Shari'ah-compliant formats, including offshore options, and every recommendation is checked for compliance as well as for tax, cost and fit with the rest of your plan.
Shari'ah-compliant investing → · How should you invest R5 million according to Shari'ah principles? →
How I Work
Good financial planning starts with understanding your circumstances, priorities and what you want to achieve.
My approach is to consider your financial position as a whole, rather than looking at investments, retirement income and tax decisions in isolation.
I aim to provide objective, practical advice that helps you understand your options, make informed decisions and put an appropriate strategy in place. The focus is on adding meaningful value, not introducing unnecessary complexity or recommending changes simply for the sake of change.
Advice that considers how your investment, retirement and tax decisions fit together, and what they mean for your estate.
Recommendations based on your circumstances and goals, including retaining existing arrangements where these remain appropriate.
Regular reviews and adjustments as your circumstances, needs and financial priorities change.
We discuss your circumstances, objectives and priorities, and identify the areas where advice may add value.
I review your existing arrangements, assess relevant options and prepare recommendations tailored to your circumstances.
We discuss the recommendations, agree on the appropriate actions and implement any changes where necessary.
We review your strategy over time and adjust it as your circumstances, objectives and needs evolve.
Sometimes the best advice is to retain what you already have. Where your current arrangements are appropriate, I will explain why, rather than recommend changes that offer little or no meaningful benefit.
At this level, that means one plan across your retirement funds, your investments in your own name and your money offshore, with the structure, tax and cost decisions made together rather than one product at a time.
Request a Private ConsultationPrivate consultation
Tell me a little about your circumstances. I read every enquiry myself and will let you know how I may be able to assist.
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Not necessarily. Some people manage large portfolios well themselves. What changes at this level is how much each decision is worth: the structure, the order you draw income, how much sits offshore and the total cost all move large amounts of money. Advice earns its cost in those decisions, made together across everything you own. If what you have is already well structured, a review that says so is a useful answer too.
My fees are explained in the first consultation and agreed with you in writing before any work is done. They depend on the work involved and how your investments are held. I also set out every cost in your current arrangement and in anything I recommend, so you can compare the totals.
Only where it adds meaningful value. Sometimes the best advice is to retain what you already have. Where your current arrangements are appropriate, I will explain why, rather than recommend changes that offer little or no benefit. Before any change, the tax and costs of moving are weighed against what it improves.
Yes. Many clients come to me with an existing adviser or a portfolio they manage themselves and want an objective review of the strategy, the costs and how it is structured.
Yes. I see clients at our office in Century City, Cape Town, or by Microsoft Teams or Zoom video call, so I work with clients across South Africa.
Estate planning is not a service I offer. For wills, trusts and estate plans I work with the estate planning specialists at Gradidge Mahura Investments. What I do cover is how your retirement and investment decisions affect your estate, such as beneficiary nominations, how a living annuity passes to your family, and keeping enough cash available for estate duty.
Yes. All of my investment strategies are also available in Shari'ah-compliant formats, including offshore options, and every recommendation is checked for compliance as well as for tax, cost and fit with the rest of your plan.
Rules and figures on this page were checked against these official sources on 26 October 2026.
