Paul and Linda Thomas are married and are based in Mauritius. In planning their future, they have decided to solicit the services of a well-known financial advisor (you) with the aim of implementing their short and long term lifestyle goals and financial plans. Both of them are 45 years old. They have one son (age: 13) who is currently at college. For their immediate future they have decided that they want to purchase a new beach house and a new car. The house they are looking for has a value of Rs 7 million and they are very excited as both of them have never owned a home before. The purchase of the house will be through a bank loan, if possible. A 35% down payment will be required. They would also like to consider buying a new luxury car for Rs 5 million. However, they are unsure when to buy the car. Their longer-term plans involve establishing an investment portfolio with the aim of directly investing in cryptocurrency and a share portfolio amongst other strategies that you may recommend. They have also heard that interest rates are currently very low and Paul believes that he should now borrow significantly to achieve their goals. Lindas colleague furthermore advises them to invest in silver as he considers that the price will rise substantially in the future. Note that Paul holds the position of Hotel Accountant and earns Rs 1.2 million gross income annually, while Linda is unemployed. They also enjoy taking holidays and plan to have a holiday annually to the value of Rs 125,000 (once the Mauritian frontiers are open fully), with a world cruise planned in five years time to the value of Rs 350,000. Paul and Linda are moreover keen to retire early (if possible) and are willing to take on even additional risk if this assists in them achieving their lifestyle goals faster. They ask you for your views on this matter. They have also managed to save between them Rs 1,200,000 in cash and deposits. They are also aware that the COVID-19 pandemic may potentially have an impact on their lifestyle going forward. As a result, Paul believes that the couple should take as much insurance as possible. Estimated household expenses are Rs 55,000 per month.

Your report /financial plan should include:

Details of any assumptions made on the clients behalf in relation to investment strategies, client background data or any other relevant information other than those provided. You may use Mauritian related data (e.g tax rates, interest rates, etc). Reference to relevant measures announced in the 2020/21 Mauritian Budget is strongly encouraged.

Advice/recommendations on the goals, observations and investment options mentioned in the case study

Specific identification of any risks associated with the financial plan and investment advice, possibly including a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis based on the current investment climate.

Students are encouraged to source additional information from the financial press and the internet. All advice provided should be realistic and should be based on real life products, investments, interest rates and economic data.

Relevant calculations, quantitative assessments and research data should ideally be incorporated in your APPENDIX. The report should also be well presented.