Leaf Capital to refund portion of excessive fees

LEAF Capital, a Cape Townbased financial services provider specialising in corporate advisory and fund management services, has come to an arrangement with the Financial Services Board (FSB) to refund excessive fees charged to investors.

In a statement released last week, the FSB said it had conducted an investigation into debenture investments made by three pension funds, through which the funds became beneficiaries of the Leaf Property Fund Trust managed by Leaf Capital.

“The FSB reviewed the initial structure of the investment scheme, a subsequent restructuring thereof, and the fees charged to the investors. The FSB raised concerns about the fees incurred by the funds. Following the intervention of the FSB, Leaf Capital agreed to refund a portion of the fees to the affected pension funds. Leaf Capital has also agreed to reimburse the FSB’s costs.

‘The FSB will not take any regulatory action against Leaf Capital.

“The registrar expressed concern in general about the structure of pricing in the property industry, and the risk of clients not being fully informed,” the statement says.