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About Mbalwa
About Mbalwa & Our Advisers
Meet the people and principles behind your financial plan.
Mbalwa Investment Services is an independent, FSP-licensed advice practice built around a simple idea: your plan should start with your goals, not with a product someone is trying to sell you. Here's who we are, what we're licensed to do, and how our advisers work.
Mbalwa's story
Why we do this, and
who we do it for
Mbalwa Investment Services was established to close a gap we kept seeing: people making significant, long-term financial decisions — a retirement annuity, an offshore allocation, a living annuity at retirement — without a clear, unhurried explanation of what they were actually agreeing to.
We wanted an advice practice where the starting question is always “what are you trying to achieve?” rather than “which product should I sell you?”
We work with South Africans at every stage, connecting investment planning with the retirement income those investments may one day need to provide.
Plain language is a working discipline: terms are explained, fees are disclosed and every recommendation includes an honest account of what could go wrong as well as what could go right.
Meet the advisers
Real people, licensed and accountable
Every piece of financial guidance on this site is written or reviewed by one of our named, licensed advisers.
Wenzile Mthiyane, CFP®
Founder & Key Individual
Wenzile founded Mbalwa Investment Services after more than fifteen years working across investment and retirement advice in the South African market. She holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®) designation through the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa, and is the Key Individual responsible for Mbalwa's compliance and advice oversight under FSP 55090.
Her areas of expertise are retirement-income planning, unit trust and offshore investment strategy, and translating complex regulation into a plan clients genuinely understand. Wenzile writes and reviews much of the retirement-planning content on this site — see her byline on the retirement calculator and across the retirement planning pages.
JM
Johan van der Merwe, CFP®
Senior Investment Adviser
Johan brings over a decade of portfolio construction and offshore-investing experience to the Mbalwa team, having previously advised private clients at a Johannesburg wealth-management practice before joining Mbalwa. He holds the CFP® designation and operates under Mbalwa's FSP 55090 licence as a representative.
Johan specialises in portfolio management, offshore diversification and retirement-income modelling for clients approaching or already in retirement, and authors much of the investment-planning content on this site — see his byline on the investment planning pages.
How we advise
Advisory philosophy
Goals before products
We start with what you're planning for, then find what fits — never the other way around.
Suitability
Every recommendation is weighed against your goals, risk profile and time horizon.
Diversification
We favour a considered mix of assets over concentrated bets on any one outcome.
Long-term discipline
Sound plans are built to withstand short-term noise, not react to it.
Clear fees
Every fee is disclosed upfront, before you commit to anything.
Ongoing reviews
Plans are revisited as your life, and the markets, change.
Evidence rather than predictions
We explain what the data suggests, and we're candid about what we don't know.
Our process
How advice is developed
01
Understand the client
We take stock of your full financial picture, goals and risk profile.
02
Research suitable options
We compare products, platforms and strategies against what you're trying to achieve.
03
Complete compliance checks
Every recommendation is checked against FAIS suitability and disclosure requirements.
04
Present recommendations
A clear, documented plan you understand — including fees and risks — before you sign anything.
05
Implement and review
We put the plan in place and revisit it as circumstances and markets change.
Licensing & regulatory information
Who we are, on the record
Mbalwa Investment Services (Pty) Ltd is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP 55090, licensed under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act to render advice and intermediary services relating to the categories reflected on our licence. Wenzile Mthiyane, CFP®, is the appointed Key Individual responsible for the practice's compliance oversight.
If you're ever unhappy with advice you've received or a service you've experienced, please raise it with us directly in the first instance via our contact page — we take complaints seriously and will investigate promptly. If a complaint cannot be resolved with us, you have the right to escalate it to the relevant regulatory ombud. Full detail on our licence, complaints process and other regulatory disclosures is available on our regulatory disclosure page.
Regulatory perspective
Global regulatory awareness
We operate with a strong understanding of the international financial-services regulatory environment. Our approach is informed by globally recognised standards and the requirements established by leading financial regulators across the markets in which our clients operate.
Our regulatory awareness includes the frameworks and guidance associated with:
Financial Sector Conduct Authority · Financial Intelligence Centre
Financial Conduct Authority · Prudential Regulation Authority
European Securities and Markets Authority
Financial Services Agency
China Securities Regulatory Commission
Capital Market Authority
These organisations collectively shape global expectations relating to market integrity, consumer and investor protection, financial stability, anti-money-laundering controls, responsible conduct, transparency and regulatory compliance.
Our commitment is to support responsible business practices, maintain strong internal controls and align our services with the applicable regulatory expectations of each jurisdiction in which we operate.
Regulatory awareness does not imply authorisation by every organisation listed above. Mbalwa Investment Services is authorised in South Africa as FSP 55090.
Who we work with
Advice for the point in life you’re navigating.
From a first contribution to drawing an income in retirement, we connect each decision to the wider plan around it.
Starting out
First-time investors
Build sound habits and a diversified foundation from your first monthly contribution.
Building complexity
Established professionals
Refine a growing portfolio as income, responsibilities and investment choices expand.
Preparing ahead
Pre-retirees
Model the income you may need and address a projected shortfall while there is still time.
Living the plan
Retirees
Draw a sustainable income while managing longevity, inflation and market risk.
Connecting both worlds
Business owners
Coordinate personal wealth with business-linked investment and retirement decisions.
At a turning point
People in transition
Navigate an inheritance, career change, divorce settlement or other significant financial event.
What we stand for
Principles that shape every recommendation.
Good advice is more than a technically correct answer. It should be clear, accountable and built around a relationship that lasts.
01
Clarity
Plain language, always. We explain the detail, remove the jargon and make sure you understand the choices in front of you.
02
Integrity
We say what we mean, including when the honest answer is “it depends”.
03
Responsibility
We take our licence, and the trust it represents, seriously.
04
Long-term thinking
Plans built to hold up over years, not just the next quarter.
05
Personal service
You work with a named adviser who knows your circumstances.
How our content works
Adviser-reviewed content
Every guide, calculator and explainer on this website is researched against current South African financial-services practice, regulatory updates, tax rules and relevant product information.
Our named, licensed advisers review the content for accuracy, relevance and plain-language clarity before it is published.
When regulations, tax rules or product features change, we update the relevant pages and refresh the “last reviewed” date shown with each article.
Our goal: clear, current information that supports better questions and better decisions—never return promises or automated personal advice.
Researched
We check official sources, market context and product information.
Reviewed
A named, licensed adviser checks accuracy and relevance.
Updated
We revisit pages when regulations or products change.
Clear
Important terms and limitations are explained in plain language.
