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18 September 2025
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Businesses exploit the psychological processes that people go through when they decide to buy something, but does the US research work when faced with "traditional hard-bitten, no-bullshit Australian scepticism"?
As we enter a new year, we dive into the Morningstar database to see which asset classes have performed well over various time periods, with the related risks and largest historical drawdowns.
The Warren Buffett/Charlie Munger partnership is the stuff of legends, but even Charlie admits it is coming to an end ("I'm nearly dead"). He is one of the few people in investing prepared to say what he thinks.
While it is common for articles to receive around 5,000 hits, several were read over 30,000 times. Here are all the articles which received over 10,000 hits on our system, out of about 400 pieces published in 2021.
As Firstlinks enters its 10th year of publishing, there is a vast archive with thousands of articles on almost any financial subject of interest. Here is a quick summary of the free resources available to all.
Long gone is the time when investing was only finding traditional value stocks making profits. Now there's Bitcoin, crypto, NFTs, memes, and finfluencers. Among a few winners, much of it will not end well.
Super and housing dwarf every other asset class in Australia, and they’ve both become too big to fail. Can they continue to grow at current rates, and if so, what are the implications for the economy, work and markets?
With rising home prices and falling affordability, political leaders preach reform. But asset disclosures show many are heavily invested in property - raising doubts about whose interests housing policy really protects.
Retiring with debt may have advantages. Maintaining a mortgage on the family home can provide a line of credit in retirement for flexibility, extra income, and a DIY reverse mortgage strategy.
The ASX is shrinking not by accident, but by design. A governance model that rewards detachment over ownership is driving capital into private hands and weakening public markets.
The AI boom has sparked investor euphoria, but under the surface, US big tech is showing cracks - slowing growth, surging capex, and fading dominance signal it's time to question conventional tech optimism.
Trade is now a strategic weapon, reshaping the investment landscape. In this environment, resilient companies - those capable of absorbing shocks and defending margins - are best positioned to outperform.
The next generation of wealth creation is likely to emerge from founder influenced firms that combine scalable models with long-term alignment. Four signs can alert investors to these companies before the crowds.