ABOUT API
Asset Protection International is a specialist financial advisory services company offering an extensive range of investment management and financial planning services to international and Southern African investors.
The firm has an extensive team of professionals and is wholly owned by members of its senior team. Offshore specialisation has always been, and remains, one of the company’s core competencies. The advice and investment services thus provided reflect our awareness of the global marketplace.
Registered with the SA Financial Services Board (now the Financial Sector Conduct Authority) in 2000, API has evolved from an advisory firm specialising in offshore investing into a holistic wealth management company that commits to protect and advance all aspects of investors’ financial well-being. We are fully compliant investment managers, and currently serve a broad range of clients, from both South Africa and abroad, who rely on us for independent advice and strategic coaching in the realms of financial planning and investment management. Today, our staff complement comprises numerous advisers, operating from offices around the country, who collectively manage over R4.5 billion in assets.
As a Category II (discretionary) advisory firm, we are both tightly regulated and well qualified to dispense advice. API is audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers and covered by professional indemnity insurance. These controls are there to provide peace of mind for our clients.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
We acknowledge that each client is different and that needs differ from one client to another. What follows is how we at API see our obligations and our typical role in providing a financial service to our clients.
The principles of care, trust and fairness to the client outweigh all other considerations. Our commitment is to both responsible investment management and to closely supportive client relationships. Contractually, API acts as the client’s agent and represents the client in dealings with financial institutions. We do not represent the interests of any financial institution relationships. The management and control of risk will in most cases take precedence over the pursuit of high investment returns.
Client funds are invested directly in the client’s name with the relevant institution. The client is a principal to the contract and API the client’s agent. Our clients regard us as their personal financial advisers. We make ourselves available to discuss their investment and personal financial planning matters as they arise. In short ‘old fashioned’ personal service. Managed funds allow the fund manager discretion to allocate to different asset classes working within a risk/return mandate. This provides a built-in management component to ensure that the appropriate balance is being maintained. As part of our commitment to fairness to the client, the bulk of our income is earned from fees for ongoing servicing over the lifetime of an investment rather than from initial placement fees. This ensures that we have a stake in maintaining our service.
OUR ROOTS
INDEPENDENCE
As an independent company, API does not “sell” products and is not affiliated with any one particular institution.
We prioritise the client’s best interests above all else and pride ourselves on using only the most appropriate wealth
solutions, selected from over 80 reputable service providers, to ensure that clients’ needs are met.
IMPARTIALITY
We recognise that objectivity is of paramount importance when guiding financial decisions. As a result, we’ve put
several processes in place to protect clients, and ourselves, from human biases. Fund selection, for instance, is guided by independent third-party research to guarantee impartiality.
PERSONAL STEWARDSHIP
API’s recommendations typically hinge on an in-depth analysis of clients’ unique needs, circumstances and objectives, with solutions tailored to the specifics of the situation. As we come from a position of genuine care, we choose to embark on a long-term personalised journey with investors. We make ourselves available whenever we’re needed. And through regular reviews and ongoing servicing, we ensure that financial plans remain aligned with individuals’ shifting requirements. “We invest in building meaningful professional partnerships with clients over time. In so doing, we both earn trust and prove we’re worthy of it.”
FAIRNESS
In everything we do, we strive to operate with integrity. Transparency and open communication are of utmost
importance to us. We add value where we can and generally steer away from structured products that lock clients
into agreements and impose penalties for switches or early withdrawals.
“We have long-term relationships with clients for all the right reasons.
If something doesn’t work for them, it doesn’t work for us.”
SINCERITY
Our aim is to achieve the best outcomes for investors, and we’re well aware that appropriate action can only be taken if advice is sound and sincere. Often, serving clients optimally requires asking hard questions and delivering hard truths. As financial planning professionals, we prioritise long-term wealth creation and preservation over short-term appeasement.