There is no doubt that this is a landmark edition of Blue Chip in being the last issue as the official journal of the Financial Planning Institute. Blue Chip has been an integral part of the FPI family over the past four years and I believe it has played a very constructive role in the ongoing evolution of the FPI as a representative body.

Inevitably when a partnership ends there is sadness and this is no exception, with a number of close relationships having developed over the past few years between the contributors from the various FPI industry bodies and Blue Chip.

However the exciting thing about endings is that they provide the opportunity for new beginnings and it is with great excitement that I join the Blue Chip team. I believe that Blue Chip is exceptionally well-positioned for the next stage in its journey as a key resource to financial professionals in South Africa.

The benefit of not being associated with just one representative body is that we can address the relevant and key issues impacting on the wealth management industry in South Africa without fear or favour.

It is an industry that has a number of professionals involved in the delivery of services, solutions and products, be they stockbrokers, accountants, actuaries, lawyers, financial advisers or private bankers. We aim to address issues that are relevant to financial professionals across the board and to play an active role in doing what we can to further professionalise the delivery of wealth management services to private clients.

To this end, the June edition of Blue Chip will focus on the question of what makes a professional advisor?. In so doing we will consider questions such as: what are clients really looking for? What characterises a profession? How does one become a truly trusted advisor?

In the August edition we will look at the thorny issue of wealth. What is true wealth, and how do people know if they are wealthy or not? To this end, I’m very excited that we will be featuring the introduction of a wealth benchmarking process for the first time in South Africa. This process will enable individuals to benchmark their wealth against others both anonymously and on an ongoing basis.

In addition to being a resource for financial professionals, Blue Chip aims to be an independent forum that enables practitioners, policy-makers, academics, commentators and clients to advance the debate on Financial Planning and Wealth Management issues.

I trust that any professional who is advising clients on wealth management will find the publication a must-have resource. If not, I look forward to hearing from you to ensure that we fulfil this mandate!

Rob Macdonald

Robert MacDonald, new consultant editor of Blue Chip, has worked in the financial services industry for the past 10 years, during which he has held senior investment and consulting roles. He is currently Head of Xchange Solutions, a business that partners with and provides a range of services to independent financial planning and wealth management businesses. Robert is also Head of Institutional Consulting at Nedgroup Investments and in this role oversees an investment consulting service to institutional clients such as retirement funds and medical aids. Before entering the financial services industry Robert was Director of the MBA Programme at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town (GSB). He retains a link with the GSB as Director of the Advice-based Financial Planning course that is run by the GSB Executive Programmes division. Robert has a BA in Economics and English from UCT, a MA in Politics from Durham University, and an MPhil in Management Studies from Oxford University. Robert is also qualified as a Certified Financial Planner.