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22 January 2025
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Royal Commission hits, ETF survivors, measure risk, A-REITs, Lucy Brogden interview, excess super caps, Thorny Birds, Chris’s 30 year CFS anniversary.
Round 5 of the Royal Commission focused on superannuation. Conflicts of interest, trustee responsibilities and delays in meeting the legal obligation to transfer default clients to MySuper products featured.
It’s much easier to measure returns than the risk involved in generating those returns. Yet, it’s crucial to understand risk because in certain markets, higher returns may simply be coming from taking more risk.
As interest rates remain low and foreign buyers come looking for assets, listed property has performed well, but asset allocators can move in and out of the sector based on other factors.
ETFs have grown rapidly in popularity and diversity, but like managed funds, not all products will survive for the long term and there are consequences if a small-scale ETF is closed by its issuer.
Mental Health Commissioner, Lucy Brogden calls on financial industry professionals to better address their clients' needs for advice that supports both financial and mental health.
What to do if super guarantee payments from multiple employers, combined with salary sacrifice arrangements, have resulted in a breach of the concessional contribution cap.
In the week that marks 30 years since Chris Cuffe joined what became Colonial First State, a former colleague reflects on what makes a business successful, and what may have been lost from those early days.
The final act in the Colleen McCullough drama was a messy court case pitting her former husband against a Foundation, and featured unreliable witnesses the court did not trust.
Last year, I wrote an article suggesting returns from ASX stocks would trample those from housing over the next decade. One year later, this is an update on how that forecast is going and what's changed since.
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.
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.
Key lessons include expensive stocks can always get more expensive, Bitcoin is our tulip mania, follow the smart money, the young are coming with pitchforks on housing, and the importance of staying invested.
Check out the most-read Firstlinks articles from 2024. From '16 ASX stocks to buy and hold forever', to 'The best strategy to build income for life', and 'Where baby boomer wealth will end up', there's something for all.