Financial Service Scope and Authority Comparison Checklist
Labels such as financial planner, wealth manager and family office do not prove what a provider is authorised, contracted or equipped to do. This checklist helps a South African family compare the actual service scope, authority and accountability before appointing or retaining a provider.
This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Verify the exact provider, representative, licence categories, contract and professional qualifications for the work required.
1. Define the family's required outcomes
List the decisions and administration that need help: cash flow, investments, retirement, risk, tax coordination, estate work, entities, property, business succession, Shariah evidence or family reporting. Separate one-off projects from recurring work.
2. Identify the contracting legal entity
Record the provider's registered name, trading name, company number, address and contracting party. Marketing brands can cover several entities. The agreement, invoice, advice record and complaint route should identify who is responsible.
3. Verify regulated authority
Use the FSCA regulated-entities search to check the relevant financial-services provider and representative. Confirm the licence categories and whether the proposed activity is advice, intermediary service, administration or an unregulated coordination task.
4. Distinguish advice from coordination
Advice can recommend a financial product or course of action within a regulated or professional scope. Coordination can collect facts, organise evidence, schedule reviews and connect specialists. Require each deliverable to state which role applies and who approved the conclusion.
5. Map the professional team
List the authorised adviser, attorney, tax practitioner, accountant, valuer, trustee, property specialist and Shariah scholar needed for the family facts. A single coordinator should not silently assume every professional authority.
6. Compare the fact-find depth
Check whether the process covers only products or also legal ownership, entities, liabilities, guarantees, employer benefits, cash flow, tax records, foreign assets, digital assets, dependants and estate evidence. Broader data collection must have a clear purpose and secure handling.
7. Examine implementation authority
Record who may open accounts, place trades, submit instructions, transfer money, change beneficiaries or contact providers. Require written mandates and approval limits. Coordination access should not become unnecessary transaction authority.
8. Verify custody and cash control
Identify who holds client money and assets, where cash is paid, whether accounts are in the family's name and how withdrawals are approved. Do not send investment money to a coordinator merely because the service uses a family-office label.
9. Reconcile the fee model
List planning, retainer, asset-based, commission, platform, fund, transaction, custody, implementation and referral fees. State who receives each amount, whether VAT applies and what happens if the family cancels. Compare total rand cost with defined deliverables.
10. Disclose conflicts and commercial links
Record ownership, product panels, preferred providers, commissions, referral payments, group companies and relationships with mortgage, insurance, investment or legal firms. A disclosure should explain how the conflict is managed in the specific recommendation.
11. Test the Shariah governance process
Ask who selects the methodology, reviews contracts, screens holdings, handles purification and decides exceptions. A Muslim-facing brand or adviser identity is not product-level Shariah evidence. Preserve the named reviewer, documents and review date.
12. Review data protection
Map the personal, financial, medical and family information collected, purpose, users, vendors, storage, retention and deletion. Use role-based access and secure portals. Never provide bank passwords, one-time PINs or private keys.
13. Define reports and meeting rhythm
Specify the household balance sheet, performance data, fee report, action register, risk review, tax calendar, estate status and Shariah exceptions expected. Agree frequency, cut-off dates, responsible people and how corrections are recorded.
14. Test continuity and exit
Ask who takes over during absence, incapacity, staff departure or firm closure. Confirm record ownership, data export, mandate cancellation, asset transfer and outstanding-fee processes. The family should retain an independent evidence pack.
15. Set measurable appointment conditions
Create a written scope with included and excluded work, named professionals, response standards, approvals, fees and termination rights. Review delivery against evidence rather than prestige, job title or the number of products sold.
Provider comparison register
Legal entity and contract
Licence categories and representatives
Advice, coordination and implementation scope
Professional referrals and authority
Custody and transaction controls
Fees, commissions and conflicts
Shariah governance and evidence
Reports, continuity and exit terms
Official starting points
Practical outcome: the family appoints providers from verified authority, written scope, total cost and evidence of delivery rather than from an ambiguous title.
