Additional income for financial advisers in South Africa

01 — First things first

Start with compliance, not with the opportunity

Most articles like this open with the money. For advisers that would be the wrong order, so let's be direct: if you're a licensed financial adviser, your regulatory position is the first question, not the last. Outside business interests, conflicts of interest, disclosure and record-keeping all sit under obligations you already carry — and they belong to you, your FSP and your compliance officer, not to us.

ProLend cannot advise you on your regulatory obligations, and you should be wary of anyone in this space who implies otherwise. What we can do is describe the role accurately, so the conversation you have with your compliance officer is a well-informed one. That's the purpose of this page.

What's factually true about the arrangement: private lending is lending, not an investment product; the lending itself is carried out by a registered credit provider under the National Credit Act; consultants are independent, not employees; and the role is education and introduction, with product specifics referred to the provider. How those facts interact with your particular licence, category and advice process is exactly what your compliance officer is there to determine.

02 — The fit

Why advisers fit the role so naturally

Set the regulatory question aside for a moment and the fit is obvious. Advisers already do the two hardest parts of this work. You have clients with capital — and, more importantly, you know which of them have money sitting somewhere it isn't working. And you have the discipline of the conversation: establishing what someone actually needs, explaining a structure in plain terms, being straight about trade-offs, and documenting it properly.

Most people who come to this role need to be taught that discipline. Advisers arrive with it. What the training adds is the private-lending specifics — how prime-linked returns work, how arrangements are secured, where offshore fits, and the honest limits of what can be said.

Advisers also tend to grasp the point of the thing faster than most. Clients ask about alternatives to cash and listed markets constantly, particularly those sitting on a lump sum after a business sale, a retrenchment package or an inheritance. Being able to explain what private credit actually is — rather than deflecting because it's outside your usual product set — is useful whether or not any commercial arrangement ever follows.

The flip side is that advisers are also the most likely to spot where this genuinely doesn't fit a particular client, and to say so. That instinct is exactly what makes the role work at all: a consultant whose reputation depends on being straight is worth considerably more than one chasing a number.

03 — The role

What a ProLend consultant actually is

A consultant is a trained professional who explains private lending clearly, models real figures with a client, and walks them through structure, term and risk — referring anything beyond their remit to ProLend's product team. It is deliberately not a referral link, and it isn't a sales role.

The client models their own numbers on your calculator and sees an indicative figure for their own amount; the conversation follows from what they can see. That approach exists partly because it's more honest and partly because it's more compliant — the tool shows indicative figures rather than anyone promising a return.

04 — Earnings

How consultants are paid

Consultants earn commission on business successfully placed — from 3%, rising with monthly business secured to 4.5%, per the consultant agreement. It's a commercial opportunity, not a guarantee of income: you're paid on business actually placed.

For advisers specifically, the number matters less than the disclosure around it. How commission from an outside arrangement is disclosed to a client, and how any conflict is managed and recorded, is precisely the sort of thing your compliance officer will want defined up front. Better to have that settled in writing before a single client conversation than to work it out afterwards.

05 — Support

What ProLend provides

• Training on private lending, the products, and the boundaries of what a consultant should and shouldn't say.
• A public profile page — a professional presence clients can verify you on.
• Your own calculator link, so clients model their own figures, attributed to you.
• A digital business card and email signature in ProLend's branding.
• A mentored first client meeting.
• Ongoing product support for anything technical or beyond remit.

You can see the assets a consultant receives.

06 — Your checklist

Questions to put to your compliance officer

If you take one thing from this page, take this list. Before applying, get clear answers on:

• Outside business interests — does your FSP permit them, and what approval is required?
• Disclosure — how must commission from an outside arrangement be disclosed to clients?
• Conflicts of interest — how is a potential conflict identified, managed and recorded under your conflict-of-interest policy?
• Scope of advice — how should this activity be kept distinct from regulated advice you provide?
• Professional indemnity — does your cover contemplate outside commercial activity?
• Record-keeping — what must be documented, and where?

An adviser who walks into this with those six settled is in a strong position. One who doesn't is taking a risk with a licence that took years to earn — which is not a trade worth making for any commission.

07 — Getting started

How to start

A short application, then a conversation to see whether it's a fit both ways, then training before any client meeting. Nothing commits you at the application stage — and if your compliance position isn't settled yet, the conversation is a sensible place to raise it.

The become a consultant page sets out the full model if you'd like the wider picture first.