Reflecting on 2021

Kiwis won’t forget 2021, the year of sudden change to the way we live in New Zealand following the outbreak of Covid and the lengthy lockdowns that followed for some, but not others. This has been a particularly stressful time for so many people and now we will get our collective heads around a new version of ‘traffic lights’. Health and safety remain a priority focus at Lifetime and we are closely following all government guidelines to make sure we keep our staff and clients safe.

Our business journey has been full of twists and turns this year. We have been very fortunate to expand and welcome the team from One50 Group NZ Ltd into the Lifetime family at the end of September. This merger enhances our service offerings to now include general insurance, accounting and property accounting/advisory services. If you are currently in the market for one of these service offerings please don’t hesitate to talk with your existing adviser or local office to arrange an introductory meeting. Following a long association, our relationship with Rothbury Insurance Brokers came to a close in 2021.

Lifetime had a few advisers reach the wonderful years of retirement in 2021 and as a result we fondly farewelled Bourke O’Connor from Auckland, Sue Jones from Invercargill, Mike O’Donnell from Wellington, Emmett Mills and Ian French from Nelson, and Warren Skerrett from Queenstown. Whilst on the one hand we will miss the experience of these colleagues, we have been very fortunate to bring on board another 21 members into the Lifetime team during the year along with the 62 team members from One50. With so much uncertainty in New Zealand today and many businesses struggling under the Covid environment, it is really pleasing to be part of a growing and exciting team.

A huge bonus for Lifetime with this merger is that One50 were the pioneers of Dream Days, a Charitable Trust initiative providing a special ‘Dream Day’ for children between the ages of 5 to 21 who have been affected by illness or disability.

Lifetime is very proud to be able to continue this fantastic cause by organising Dream Days across the country, bringing smiles and memories to families during their difficult times. If you visit our website dreamdays.co.nz, you’ll get to see the impact these days have for some very worthy recipients. If you know of a deserving candidate, the website is also the place to go and apply for a Dream Day.

During the latter part of 2021 we have changed two office locations, so please note this if you are based in the Waikato or Southland. The Hamilton team now operate from 99 Victoria Street, and the Invercargill team have moved into 47 Deveron Street. Both offices provide a nice and spacious environment and will allow us to grow our team numbers in these regions in the coming years.

Thank you to all those who have engaged in our client surveys during the year. It’s important as a business to know that we deliver on your expectations and help you create the financial certainty to achieve your goals and aspirations. We know that we are not the only service or product supplier who looks for feedback, so we do appreciate you taking a little time to tell us whether or not we are on track, and if appropriate where we can make improvements.

We wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas and look forward to working with you in 2022.

Peter Cave

Managing Director, Lifetime