Marchant Scott Financial Planning

Marchant Scott Financial Planning Helping pre-retirees and retirees avoid costly mistakes with their retirement and investments.

To provide clients with advice on financial matters and make recommendations on the best ways to utilise their money. The role involves advising clients on products and services available, hence ensures they understand those that best meet their needs.

03/07/2026

Not every investment recommendation should be the same.

Two people can each have R2 million to invest.

One may need an income in retirement.

Another may want long-term growth.

Another may want easy access to their money.

The "best investment" isn't the same for everyone.

That's why I believe every recommendation should start with understanding your circumstances, your goals and what you're trying to achieve before talking about products.

Financial advice should be personal, not one-size-fits-all.

02/07/2026

Before you invest a significant lump sum, slow down.

One of the biggest mistakes I see is people deciding where to invest before deciding how it should be structured.

The investment itself is important, but so are things like:

• Tax implications
• Estate planning
• Accessibility of your money
• Your long-term objectives

Whether your money comes from retirement, the sale of a property or business, an inheritance or years of saving, it's worth taking the time to get the structure right before making a decision.

Sometimes a short conversation can prevent an expensive mistake.

05/06/2026

One of the biggest retirement planning mistakes I see is focusing on return and ignoring risk.

When you're 35, a market decline can be uncomfortable.

When you're about to retire, it can significantly affect your plans.

That's why investment strategy should evolve as retirement approaches.

The objective isn't necessarily to maximise returns.

It's to build a portfolio that gives you the best chance of achieving your retirement goals while managing unnecessary risk.

Retirement planning is not only about growing wealth.

It's also about protecting it.

04/06/2026

A question worth asking:

If you retired tomorrow, would you know how much monthly income your investments could realistically provide?

Not what you hope they could provide.

Not what someone told you years ago.

What they could realistically provide today.

Surprisingly, many people know the value of their retirement savings...

but have no idea what level of income those savings can sustainably generate.

Understanding the difference can completely change the way you plan for retirement.

03/06/2026

One of the most common comments I hear from people approaching retirement is:

"I wish I had started taking my retirement planning more seriously a few years earlier."

The challenge is that retirement planning isn't only about growing your investments.

It's about making sure your savings can support the lifestyle you want once your salary stops.

The closer retirement gets, the fewer opportunities there are to correct mistakes.

That's why the final 5–10 years before retirement are often the most important planning years of all.

Retirement doesn't happen overnight.

It happens one decision at a time.

26/05/2026

Retirement is often seen as the finish line.

In reality, it's the start of a completely new financial phase.

Over the years, I've noticed that many people spend decades building retirement capital...

but very little time understanding how that capital will provide an income once they stop working.

One of the biggest decisions at retirement is often choosing how your pension savings will generate an income.

Yet many people focus almost entirely on the investment value and very little on the income strategy.

The reality is that two people with exactly the same retirement savings can experience very different outcomes depending on the decisions they make at retirement.

That's why retirement planning isn't only about how much you've accumulated.

It's also about how that money is structured to support you for the next 20–30 years.

If retirement is on the horizon, one question worth asking yourself is:

Do I fully understand the income options available to me, and the long-term consequences of each?

The biggest investment mistake I see after someone receives a large lump sum isn't choosing the wrong investment.It's in...
22/05/2026

The biggest investment mistake I see after someone receives a large lump sum isn't choosing the wrong investment.

It's investing before clearly defining the objective.

Before discussing returns, it's important to understand:

• What is this money meant to achieve?
• Will it be used for retirement income?
• Is capital preservation important?
• Will access to the funds be needed?
• Are there estate planning considerations?

An inheritance may require a different strategy to retirement capital.

The proceeds from a property sale may require a different strategy to money intended for long-term growth.

The best investment is not necessarily the one with the highest return.

It's the one that is properly aligned with your goals, time horizon, tax position and risk tolerance.

Good investing starts with purpose.

The investment should support the objective — not the other way around.

21/05/2026

The real retirement question is not:

“How much money do I have?”

It’s:

“How much reliable income can this money produce… and for how long?”

Those are two very different questions.

19/05/2026

One thing I see over and over again:

Someone feels disappointed with their investment performance…

but the portfolio hasn’t been reviewed in years.

Markets change.
Inflation changes.
Retirement goals change.

Yet many people are still invested according to strategies that were put in place 5–10 years ago.

Even a good investment can become the wrong investment over time if it’s no longer aligned with your current objectives.

Regular reviews are not only about performance.

They’re about making sure the strategy still makes sense for where you are today.

I often see people feel pressured to make quick investment decisions after:• retirement payouts• inheritances• property ...
15/05/2026

I often see people feel pressured to make quick investment decisions after:

• retirement payouts
• inheritances
• property sales
• bonuses
• or discretionary cash becoming available

But large financial decisions should rarely be rushed.

The highest advertised return is not automatically the best solution.

The structure, tax efficiency, risk level, liquidity requirements, and long-term objective all matter.

Good investing starts with clarity of purpose.

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