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6 February 2025
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Scientific research suggests that your personality largely determines your financial success. This looks at the latest studies and what tools that you can use to improve self-awareness and become a better investor.
A new book provides fascinating, little known insights into the earliest investments of the world’s greatest investor, Warren Buffett, including one which may have been the blueprint for Berkshire Hathaway.
It’s well documented that many retirees draw down the minimum amount required and die with much of their super balances untouched. This explores the reasons why and some potential solutions to address the issue.
The great wealth transfer has begun as Generation X has overtaken Baby Boomers for housing and shares in Australia, according to KPMG research. Though closer analysis suggests that’s incorrect and Boomers still rule the roost.
One of the best parts of Firstlinks is the community that we've created and the thousands of comments that our articles receive. Here is your chance to set the agenda for 2025: what topics would you like to see covered?
Australia is at a crossroads: we’re one of the world’s richest countries, yet our wealth has stagnated over the past 15 years. A review of our history and how we became prosperous offers clues to the best ways to kickstart the economy.
Investors love new companies yet it’s often the ones that have endured through generations that offer the best lessons. Here is a study of the world’s oldest-surviving businesses and the key characteristics that make them special.
The US market is heading for back-to-back years with returns of more than 20% and the last that happened was at the height of the dot-com bubble. Can American exceptionalism continue or is it time to look elsewhere for ideas?
Latest figures reveal the estimated assets of SMSFs have topped $1 trillion for the first time. It’s quite an achievement for a sector not yet 40 years old, and it’s been driven by new members and recent asset returns.
As we collectively mourn the loss of Graham Hand, many of his friends, colleagues, and readers of Firstlinks have expressed a desire to make a donation in his honour. His family has established The Graham Hand Gift.
New research shows active funds in Australia perform well against comparable passive funds. Yet, it also reveals managed funds with lower fees tend to do better than those with more expensive ones.
New research reveals undiagnosed cognitive decline can cost retirees tens of thousands of dollars through bad investments or financial scams. It’s crucial to put legal and financial safeguards in place to protect your wealth.
The housing market was subdued in 2024, and pessimism abounds as we start the new year. 2025 is likely to be a tale of two halves, with interest rate cuts fuelling a resurgence in buyer demand in the second half of the year.
This examines the performance of key asset classes and sub-sectors in 2024 and over longer timeframes, and the lessons that can be drawn for constructing an investment portfolio for the next decade.
While encouraging people to draw down on their accumulated wealth in retirement might be good public policy, several million retirees disagree because they are purposefully conserving that capital. It’s time for a different approach.
The renowned investor has penned his first investor letter for 2025 and it’s a ripper. He runs through what bubbles are, which ones he’s experienced, and whether today’s markets qualify as the third major bubble of this century.
Getting regular, growing income from stocks is tougher with the dividend yield on the ASX nearing 25-year lows. Here are some conventional and not-so-conventional ideas for investors wanting to build a dividend portfolio.
2024 was a banner year for equities, with a run-up in US tech stocks broadening into a global market rally, and the big question now is whether the good times can continue? History suggests optimism is warranted.