This article was published on 7 February 2019. Some information may be out of date.

Playing with numbers

  1. Dollar cost averaging:
  • How it gives you bargains
  • Does it work if you have a lump sum?
  1. Rule of 72:
  • How long for an investment to double?
  • If investment has doubled, what was your return?
  1. 40 years in KiwiSaver
  • 3 times as much in high-risk fund
  • 1.5 times as much with lowest fees

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Mary Holm is a freelance journalist, a director of Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL), a seminar presenter and a bestselling author on personal finance. From 2011 to 2019 she was a founding director of the Financial Markets Authority. Her opinions are personal, and do not reflect the position of any organisation in which she holds office. Mary’s advice is of a general nature, and she is not responsible for any loss that any reader may suffer from following it.