Frankness /ˈfraŋknəs/ noun the quality of being open, honest, and direct in speech or writing.
Fact: investing is scary for many people. And just like any other fear, it likely makes us do one of a few things: freeze, run away, or hide.
As someone without a background in finance, before starting Franc I opted to do the first one most often. In the face of what seemed like an infinite number of choices, I simply didn't make any (this phenomenon is called the paradox of choice and is a widely documented problem many people face, especially when it comes to making investments). And when I finally built up the courage to make enquiries from a financial advisor or more knowledgeable friend, the answers were never frank!
I remember clearly when I sat down with a financial advisor after starting to work at Discovery; my first (and only) corporate job. The advisor was trying to sell me a combination of investment and life insurance products. Thankfully, I never like being sold anything so my preference is to do my own research and make a decision on my own before I even step foot into a shop. I told the advisor I would take what materials he could share, review them and get back to him with my decision.
And so I did just that, I even went so far as to build a basic compound growth financial model that included the expected return and the cost structure of the proposed products that were being offered. I sent this back to the advisor asking him to clarify my expectations. Unfortunately, the advisor ghosted me and I never heard from him again.
I set out to create a company that helped people like me and others who either ran away or hid from making a decision about what to do with their money. At its core, Franc is about being open, honest and direct when it comes to talking about investing.
Firstly, we help you understand your ability to take on risk, so that you start to appreciate your capacity to broaden your investments. This influences what type of products you would best suit you. Next, we followed the advice offered by Warren Buffett (arguably the most successful investment professional in the world) that most people need only invest in low-cost index-tracking equity exchange traded funds and no-risk, low-cost cash funds. So the only decision you really have to make is how much risk you want to take onboard. Simple, right? Sometimes, less really is more.
As a business we also believe that being direct and transparent is the only way to be. For far too long, companies have found clever ways to rob you of your money. Whether it's hiding important details in the fine print or creating unnecessary blockers or challenges that make it difficult to change your policy or product selection.
That's why we only charge a single all-in fee of 1% per year, so you know exactly how much you're in for. There are no other hidden fees for investing, as is too often the case. That’s just R1 for every R100 invested per year assuming you stay within the annual withdraw and transfer limits.
So far, you're probably reading this and thinking "great, but now you're gonna tell me how I need to fill in eight forms, put up my kids as surety and chuck in half a million bucks, only to find out I can only get it back after 5 years, right?"
Nope, that's the best part!
At Franc we have zero minimums and zero paperwork - you do everything through our mobile app. And you can withdraw your money at any time.
Why?
Because when it comes to choices - we believe the important ones should be in your hands. That's what it means to be #beFranc!
Happy investing!
