Get to know our team - Q&A with Dugan

Want to find out more about and hear from our Mercer team?
Here’s a short interview with our fantastic Associate, Financial Adviser Dugan Flannery.

What are your top 3 lockdown essential items?
Headphones, morning coffee and an interesting book

What’s the most commonly asked question from customers who call? And your top tip answering this question.
The most common question is, “am I in the right investment option or fund?”

My top tip would be, is work out what your investment timeframe and goals are. Are you saving for a first home or retirement? Depending on your investment timeframe, you might be investing for the long term (15+ years) in which case you should be looking at a High Growth fund as you have time on your side to take on some risk and try maximise your returns. On the flip side if you’re looking to withdraw soon, you should be in a Conservative fund as you don’t want your investment exposed to the ups and downs of the markets. This is because you don’t have time to recover the losses and you want to preserve the gains you have had over the years.

Take some time to go through our risk quiz to see if you are in the right fund.

Alternatively, set up an appointment to speak with one of our Financial Advice team members.

What is your top tip for managing finances during uncertain times or when in lockdown?
The best way to combat uncertain times or market down turns is to regularly check in with your KiwiSaver Financial Adviser and make sure you are in the most appropriate fund for your age and stage of life. This way when there is a market correction you won’t need to panic and change to a defensive fund (and lock in your losses) because you will already be in the most appropriate fund for you. By being proactive with your investment fund choice, you should be able to ride out any market lows and be in a good position for when the recovery happens. Also, don’t listen to all the media noise which is often doom and gloom during uncertain times, markets usually recover eventually.

When and why should a member call the financial advice team?
If you are unsure whether you are in the right investment option, are looking to make a large lump sum contribution, approaching a first home or a retirement withdrawal, looking to open a new account etc. Basically, when in doubt it’s a good idea to speak with an appropriately qualified financial adviser.