Amanda Karvelas, whose husband was killed in a home invasion, invested what was left of his estate in order to make provision for her child's university education. Initially it seemed to be a good investment until the income stopped and she appeared to have lost everything. The story is tragic but not unique in the ongoing cases involving the failed Zambezi property syndication promoted by Sharemax

In this instance the Ombud for Financial Services Providers, or Fais Ombud, ruled that the adviser — Johannes Hendrik Conradi van Zyl of Hendrik van Zyl Finansiële Dienste — reimburse her full capital investment. When her husband died, Karvelas used his one life policy to settle debt and had R400,000 left. She approached her late husband's financial adviser, Van Zyl, and informed him that she could not afford to lose one cent of the money as she was a teacher and the sole breadwinner who needed to invest the money to fund her child's education. Van Zyl advised her to invest in the Z...

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