In South African financial services, "independent" is one of those words everyone uses and few people define the same way. Three common flavours are worth knowing about.
Tied.
A tied advisor works for a single large financial services provider and can only recommend that provider's products. They usually have a manager, targets, and a product set that's decided by someone else. This can be fine: some tied advisors at good providers give excellent service. But the range of products they can suggest is always going to be bounded by what their employer sells.
Multi-tied.
A multi-tied advisor has contractual relationships with several providers, usually a handful. They can recommend from any of them, but their list is still limited. They're often described as "independent", and in one sense they are: they're not captive to one brand. In another sense, they're not: there are products they can't recommend because they don't have the relationship in place.
Truly independent.
A truly independent advisor has no contractual commitments to any particular product provider. They can recommend anything in the market. Their business model is typically fee-only (they charge you directly, not via a product cut), which aligns their advice with your interests rather than with a provider's incentives.
True independence is rarer than the word's use would suggest. It's worth asking directly: "Are there any major providers whose products you can't recommend?" The answer tells you which flavour you're dealing with.
Does it actually matter?
Sometimes. If your situation is straightforward and the provider's product set is genuinely good, a tied or multi-tied advisor can serve you well for less drama. If your situation is complex (multiple vehicles, offshore, estate planning, a business), true independence starts to matter, because a wider palette gives you better answers.
The more expensive and long-term the advice, the more the flavour of "independent" you're dealing with changes the quality of what you'll get.