The purpose of this study is to determine whether a discretionary inter vivos trust is still an effective instrument for estate planning. The process of estate planning, the role the trust plays in it and the background to the trust are described. The taxability and tax saving opportunities when the trust are utilised are discussed in the light of the Estate Duty Act, 45 of 1955, the Income Tax Act, 58 of 1962 (including the Eighth Schedule thereof) and the Transfer Duty Act, 40 of 1949. The opinions of tax and legal authorities in articles and relevant case law are also discussed. The impact of the "letter of wishes" on the stipulations of the trust deed is examined. Amendments to the Income Tax Act have placed a limit on the use of a trust for estate planning through a number of anti-avoidance measures, the introduction of a capital gains tax (in the Eighth Schedule) and the imposition of a high tax rate. The increase in the deduction granted in arriving at the dutiable amount of an estate, in terms of section 4A of the Estate Duty Act, from R1 500 000 to R2 500 000 has imposed a further limit on the use of the trust as an instrument in estate planning. The research demonstrates that, notwithstanding the amendments to the Income Tax Act, the trust still is a viable instrument, mainly because the trust operates as a conduit and because of its potential use in dividing taxable income amongst a number of beneficiaries. The stipulations included in the trust deed and the "letter of wishes" (if one exists), must be thought through carefully when estate planning is done, as it can give rise to the application of the general and specific anti-avoidance provisions as included in sections 7 and 103 of this Act. The research also concludes that, in assessing the effectiveness of the trust as an instrument in tax planning, the disadvantage of paying the higher transfer duty when the immovable asset is transferred to the trust should be weighed up against the possible saving in income tax and estate duty at a later stage. It is also clear that most assets owned by the trust are tax neutral, whilst many of the amendments under discussion deal with the taxability of trust income. The quantitative considerations underlying the use of the trust as part of the estate plan, remain unchanged. The research concludes by providing a framework of quantitative and qualitative criteria that can be used by an estate planner to determine whether it will be advantageous to transfer an asset to the trust to achieve the objectives of the estate plan.

This thesis analyses and compares the performance, performance persistence and fund flows for UK equity unit trusts/OEICs and UK equity unit-linked personal pensions over the sample period January 1980 to December 2007. Unit-linked personal pension funds are an illiquid investment from the investor’s perspective since any invested capital is inaccessible until retirement whereas for unit trusts/OEICs capital invested can be withdrawn at any time. Since decreasing returns to scale from fund flows are the equilibrating mechanism in Berk and Green (2004) that results in no persistence in performance the illiquid nature of unit-linked personal pension funds should ensure more evidence of performance persistence in comparison to unit trusts/OEICs. I find significant evidence using performance ranked portfolio strategies that underlying portfolios that are only composed of unit-linked personal pension funds have greater performance persistence than unit-linked personal pension funds that have underlying portfolios that also include at least a unit trust/OEIC. This evidence is consistent with Berk and Green (2004) since the illiquid nature of personal pension funds results in an attenuated performance fund flow relationship restricting the equilibrating mechanism. However, there are anomalies in the performance persistence results in relation to Berk and Green (2004) but it could be due to the differential between the number of non-surviving unit trusts/OEICs and non-surviving unit-linked personal pension funds. I also find that the performance fund flow relationship based on abnormal returns from a Carhart four factor model for both UK equity unit trusts/OEICs and UK unit-linked personal pensions is convex but the performance fund flow relationship is more attenuated for the unit-linked personal pension funds. For the worst performing unit trusts/OEICs there are outflows on average whereas for unit-linked personal pensions there are fund inflows on average. For performance persistence tests conditional on underlying portfolio fund flows unit trusts/OEICs that have the worst performance but the lowest net fund flows in the ranking period have significantly greater subsequent performance in comparison to the unit trusts/OEICs that have the worst performance but the highest net fund flows in the ranking period. This empirical evidence provides support for Berk and Green (2004) but for the unit-linked personal pension funds the evidence is less convincing. There is very little evidence that UK equity unit-trusts/OEICs or UK equity unit-linked personal pensions produce abnormal returns. These results are robust across the single index (CAPM) model, the Fama and French three factor model and the Carhart four factor model for both conditional and unconditional models. There is also no evidence that unit trusts/OEICs or unit-linked personal pension funds can time the market. There is a significantly negative timing effect across unconditional factor models which becomes insignificant for the conditional models. There is also no evidence that unit trusts/OEICs have significantly different performance than unit-linked personal pension funds.

No description available.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Pension funds are large institutional investors in South Africa and hold some of the highest levels of investment, relative to gross domestic product, in the world. The South African stock market is also the largest stock market in Africa. Research has shown that pension funds can play an important role in developing stock markets. This assignment investigated the impact that pension fund investment has had on the development of the South African stock market. This question is particularly relevant in the light of the changing domestic pension policy environment and the need to better develop stock markets in Southern Africa and globally to generate economic growth. The Johansen cointegration approach was applied to evaluate the impact of pension funds on the development of the South African stock market. Stock market development was measured by its depth or market capitalisation, liquidity and volatility. The analysis shows that South African pension funds have improved the liquidity and reduced the volatility of the stock market. Pension fund investment in shares increased market capitalisation, while market capitalisation was reduced when the prime lending rate was included as a control variable. Total pension fund investment decreased market capitalisation, probably through the impact of interest rates on interest-bearing assets held in the portfolio.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

The central tenet of tracing theory is that in certain circumstances it is possible to show that one asset stands in the place of another, such that any claims in relation to the original asset can be transmitted to its substitute. Since at least 2001 academic and judicial orthodoxy has been that this is done by following the path of value from one asset to the other, and can be aided in more complex cases by the application of evidential rules or presumptions. These ideas are at the heart of existing accounts of proprietary claims against trustees who deal with trust assets without authority, and personal and proprietary claims against strangers to the trust. They are also at the heart of calls to 'unify' the rules of tracing at law and in equity, removing existing distinctions drawn between claimants who are owed fiduciary duties and those who are not. In this thesis it is argued that there are no independent processes of following and identifying value, and that the language of 'tracing value' has lent the appearance of neutrality and conceptual unity to disparate heads of fiduciary and non-fiduciary liability. Most importantly, it has led to the assumption that in any case in which a claimant can demonstrate that a series of transactions links some right in the defendant’s hands with a right previously held by or for the claimant, the claimant can claim that right. In this thesis it is argued that far from creating an arbitrary practical obstacle for claimants seeking to trace and locate value, the fiduciary relationship is at the heart of the justification for any claim that exists to a new right in the hands of someone else.

Currently, a great schism exists in the way that the law of financial provision treats cohabiting and married couples on relationship breakdown. Given that research consistently demonstrates that women are predominantly responsible for carrying out homemaking activities regardless of employment status, at the heart of this divide is the way that the law attributes value to this traditionally female role. In the married context, on divorce, breadwinning and homemaking contributions have equal value, yet in the cohabitation context only financial contributions are recognised, with homemaking having no value attributed to it. This polarised approach has received extensive criticism from the courts, the legal profession and the academic community, both for overvaluing domestic contributions in the married context and for ignoring or at best undervaluing them in the cohabitation context. Yet, despite the agreement over the inadequacies in this area, there is a lack of consensus over the direction that reform should take, and so far attempts have been slow and have often come to nothing, especially in the cohabitation context. Furthermore, feminist opinion is divided about whether financial recognition of domestic contributions in family law poses a threat to the financial autonomy of women, encouraging patriarchal financial dependence; or whether such developments redress a glaring inequality inherent in gendered roles freely chosen within the family. Consequently, this project uses the two very differing feminist positions of Ruth Deech and Martha Fineman who embody this divide as the lens through which to explore this dichotomous tension underlying the law in this area. To test out these two feminist stances, this project uses a range of doctrinal, feminist and empirical methodology, namely interviews with legal practitioners, to compare the approaches in New Zealand, Scotland and Queensland, Australia alongside England and Wales, where each jurisdiction differentially reflects a point on a spectrum between Deech and Fineman’s contrasting positions. This project also uses focus groups with members of the public in England and Wales to ascertain the affected communities’ views on these models of financial provision. Drawing on these results, this thesis shall consider how the law of financial provision in England and Wales should divide assets on relationship breakdown in the marriage, civil partnership and the same- and different-sex cohabiting context. Should it promote financial autonomy or should it offer greater protection to those who lead gendered lives in the private sphere?

The commercial value for Bed and Breakfasts and Country Inns did not kept pace with other lodging establishments. Lodging real estate investment trusts (REITs) grew in the 1990's by acquiring hotels and motels but not the smaller Inns. This study investigated what sale terms and conditions an Inn owner would sell their property to a REIT. The study examined what conditions an innkeeper would manage the property for the REIT once the sale was closed. This study concluded that a REIT was not a feasible exit strategy for Inn owners.

Private international law from a comparative perspective (comparison of a particular segment in Czech law and the law of a selected country) The aim of this thesis is to compare the provisions of the Czech and Italian private international law respective to the issue of applicable law and recognition of trusts. The thesis is composed of six main chapters, introduction and conclusion. Second chapter refers to the historical concept of trusts with particular focus on the historical development in Czech legal system. Third chapter is focused on the notion of trust within the terms of the Act no. 89/2012 Coll., Civil Code and the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition as well as its unique implementation allowing creation of specific Italian trusts, so-called trusts interni. Fourth and fifth chapter are dedicated to the complex analysis of provisions of the Act no. 91/2012 Sb., on Private International Law and the Hague Convention, in particularly extent of the application, the choice of law, applicable law, change of law, depeçage, and recognition of trusts. European legislation overview and possible grounds for further development are described in the sixth chapter. Seventh chapter describes practical aspects of the applicable law and recognition of trusts.

As the community land trust (CLT) movement in the United States approaches its 50th anniversary, CLT members, practitioners and researchers are exploring and pushing the boundaries of the model. CLTs offer an alternative model of land use tenure that permanently removes properties from the speculative market for the ongoing common good of the community. Most frequently associated with the provision of affordable housing in strong real estate markets, several CLTs across the country are now expanding into the commercial realm. This thesis compares the incipient commercial development efforts underway in St. Paul, Minnesota and New Orleans, Louisiana in order to better understand the potential role of CLTs in helping communities preserve and create commercial assets under a wide range of market forces.