Frequently Asked Questions

Investment Process

We make investing in reputable unit trusts and retirement annuities as easy as possible. Simply click the "Try Beanstalk" button on the home page or in the main navigation above and follow our straightforward, straight-talking process.

If you are making a lump sum payment then the minimum upfront lump sum you can invest is R20,000. Thereafter, you can make additional contributions with a minimum of R5,000.

If you set up a monthly direct debit with no lump sum investment, then the minimum you can invest is R500 per month.

Yes, absolutely. You can request this change directly from your Investor Dashboard. You can also do the reverse i.e. switch from a monthly direct debit to depositing money in R500 lump sum amounts.
Beanstalk is completely independent in terms of the funds we offer on our website. We do however use Allan Gray and Investec as our fund administrators, and their reliable and secure platform for the purpose of initiating your investment requests.  Allan Gray and Investec's Investment Platforms and Retirement Annuity products are chosen for their cost efficiency, ease of administration and selection of funds.
After you have signed all the forms and uploaded your FICA documents to this site, we will package it all up and send it to Allan Gray for processing. A short time thereafter, Allan Gray will request the funds from your bank account.
If we have your signed application form and FICA documents, it will usually take 24-48 hours.
You will receive a confirmation email from us that your investment is active, and you will be able to log into this site to track and manage your portfolio using your Investor Dashboard. We will also send you monthly emails tailored to your portfolio with tips, advice and information about your funds as well as general market or industry related news.

Investment Options

Our financial advisers hand-pick the top performing unit trusts, and those we fundamentally believe offer good returns and balanced risk. There are over 25 recommended funds available to choose from, as Beanstalk is not tied to any one fund company.

There is only one Retirement Annuity product offered on Beanstalk and that is the Allan Gray Retirement Annuity. However, there are multiple funds from different fund management companies that one is able to choose to invest in when selecting this RA. 

Security and Privacy

Beanstalk doesn't touch your money - ever. Your funds are held in trust with Allan Gray as the administrator, so if anything were to happen to Beanstalk, your investments would simply be managed by Allan Gray or transferred to a broker of your choosing.
We use an SSL certificate to protect all information you send us. This means that all the information you provide us is safe during transmission. When it arrives on our secure server, we then encrypt it before it goes into our database so you can rest assured we aren't going to easily spring any leaks.

Rules & Regulations

Beanstalk, like all financial service providers is subject to the rules and regulations set and enforced by the FSB (Financial Services Board). We are regularly audited for compliance so there are no fly-by-night schenanegans going on behind the scenes in this company.

We hope you have found what you are looking for, but if not, feel free to contact us.

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 Still can't find what you are looking for?

Although we have tried to cover all common questions about the investment process, investment options, rules and regulations and other bits and pieces, we can't cover everything. So if you need more information feel free to contact us on either 021 828 2890 or email us at help@beanstalk.co.za.