If you are part of  a stokvel, we would like to highlight for you the benefits of investing your contributions in offshore tax free investments vs. saving them in a bank account.

As you know, your members are contributing for various reasons. Some are contributing for December spending money (short term), some for university fees (longer term) and some just to ensure that they have cash available for a rainy day. Furthermore, the contributions might not be equal for everyone which can cause an administrative hassle come distribution time.

ThuthukaSA would like to share with you an alternative to saving your contributions that you can use for 2024 onwards. When you invest your contributions, the returns are likely to be greater for each member and each member will also have a more personalised experience that will cater to their objectives individually.

Benefits of investing as a stokvel:

1. If a member has an emergency and needs to withdraw money from their funds, they can do so without affecting other members
2. The treasurer must send us a monthly schedule with the names of each member and how much each member is contributing. So if in one month a member cannot contribute, you simple indicate R0 contribution for that member for that month. If a member got a bonus and they want to contribute more that month, you simply indicate the higher amount
3. The investment house we invest your money with is the one that is keeping track of each member’s contribution within the stokvel, through the monthly schedules. This will reduce stress and conflict that sometimes arise when its time to distribute the money

Some conditions that your members need to be aware of upfront:

1. A list of all members and copies of their ID’s. There must be a minimum of five members registered
2. Minimum monthly contributions per member start from R500p/m
3. A copy of the constitution or other founding documents for the stokvel
4. A resolution signed by all members appointing the authorised signatories
5. Proof of bank details in the name of the stokvel (e.g. a bank statement) not older than three months
6. Proof of residential address for all members and authorised persons not older than three months

If you would like more information on this, please contact us and we can give you more detailed information for your members.