Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.
22 January 2025
Recently trending
Steve: "The best that comes into our world each week. This is the only one that is never, ever canned before fully being reviewed by yours truly."
Reader: "Great resource. Cuffelinks is STILL the one and only weekly newsletter I regularly read."
Rob Henshaw: "When I open my computer each day it's the first link I click - a really great read."
Reader: "An island of professionalism in an ocean of shallow self-interest. Well done!"
Reader: "Keep it up - the independence is refreshing and is demonstrated by the variety of well credentialed commentators."
Reader: "It's excellent so please don't pollute the content with boring mainstream financial 'waffle' and adverts for stuff we don't want!"
Reader: "I can quickly sort the items that I am interested in, then research them more fully. It is also a regular reminder that I need to do this."
Professor Robert Deutsch: "This has got to be the best set of articles on economic and financial matters. Always something worthwhile reading in Firstlinks. Thankyou"
Reader: "Love it, just keep doing what you are doing. It is the right length too, any longer and it might become a bit overwhelming."
Reader: " Finding a truly independent and interesting read has been magical for me. Please keep it up and don't change!"
Ian Kelly, CFP, BTACS Financial Services: "Probably the best source of commentary and information I have seen over the past 20 years."
David Goldschmidt, Chartered Accountant: "I find this a really excellent newsletter. The best I get. Keep up the good work!"
Jonathan Hoyle, CEO, Stanford Brown: "A fabulous publication. The only must-read weekly publication for the Australian wealth management industry."
Reader: "Best innovation I have seen whilst an investor for 25 years. The writers are brilliant. A great publication which I look forward to."
Reader: "Is one of very few places an investor can go and not have product rammed down their throat. Love your work!"
Scott Pape, author of The Barefoot Investor: "I'm an avid reader of Cuffelinks. Thanks for the wonderful resource you have here, it really is first class."
Reader: "The BEST in the game because of diversity and not aligned to financial products. Stands above all the noise."
Andrew Buchan, Partner, HLB Mann Judd: "I have told you a thousand times it's the best newsletter."
John Pearce, Chief Investment Officer, Unisuper: "Out of the (many many) investmentrelated emails I get, Cuffelinks is one that I always open."
Ian Silk, CEO, AustralianSuper: "It has become part of my required reading: quality thinking, and (mercifully) to the point."
Don Stammer, leading Australian economist: "Congratulations to all associated. It deserves the good following it has."
Reader: "Congratulations on a great focussed news source. Australia has a dearth of good quality unbiased financial and wealth management news."
Reader: "Carry on as you are - well done. The average investor/SMSF trustee needs all the help they can get."
Australian Investors Association: "Australia's foremost independent financial newsletter for professionals and self-directed investors."
Reader: "I subscribe to two newsletters. This is my first read of the week. Thank you. Excellent and please keep up the good work!"
Eleanor Dartnall, AFA Adviser of the Year, 2014: "Our clients love your newsletter. Your articles are avidly read by advisers and they learn a great deal."
Noel Whittaker, author and financial adviser: "A fabulous weekly newsletter that is packed full of independent financial advice."
John Egan, Egan Associates: "My heartiest congratulations. Your panel of contributors is very impressive and keep your readers fully informed."
More Australians are moving away from the dream of early retirement with pre-retirees planning to work longer after the age of 67, according to our new report ‘Retirement: The now and the then’ which was developed in conjunction with independent research firm, MYMAVINS.
The research was undertaken to help financial planners better understand their clients’ views on retirement and their main drivers of life satisfaction. It also looks at the evolving role of the financial planner and implications for service offerings, advice processes and portfolio construction decisions.
Importantly, in this report we've reversed the perspective to see things from the retiree’s point of view and better understand the real emotional drivers of a successful retirement.
Excellent. Was well worth taking the time to read it. [From an early retiree].
I found the comment from BeenThereB4 very good reading and absolutely correct! Our SMSF is overweight good quality fully franked Australian Shares. Having worked in a minor capacity in stockbroking, I'm comfortable with equities, rebalancing, investing for the long term to fully fund our retirement. My husband "retired" at 66 and does understand how our "buckets' and Investment Strategy work, but I primarily do the legwork. There is no "one size fits all" for people, and no get rich quick scheme on our radar, but, whilst our auditor would probably prefer to see a greater spread, she can't overlook our solid returns and cash buffer. I guess that comes back to being comfortable with what you know, knowing how much that comfort costs to maintain, and that you always have prudent plans to manage risks.
I am a stockbroker in my 70's. I have been advising clients for many years, with many clients in SMSFs. Whilst clients were in pre-retirement, I focused on building up member balances such that come the day they move to pension phase, they have a bigger nest-egg ... certainly not brain surgery. According to the financial planner mantra, my clients are overweight leading Australian shares (that pay franked divis), and they do not have "balanced" portfolios that feature some international shares, some domestic and some international fixed interest ... you know, the usual banquet meal. Whilst a small number of my clients are HNW, most retire with portfolios with value $1-to-3 million, and with a 4-to-4.5% dividend yield, this generates adequate income to meet routine spending. As they get older, a minority are dipping into the capital of the fund. The biggest issue that I encounter is a lot of otherwise sensible people are just not "engaged" with financial matters. So, typically one of a couple passes away (the person who manages the dosh), and the surviving partner is all at sea with the "estate". The survivor doesn't really read / understand the 100-page Financial Plan, and is not in to "buckets" and asset allocation vocabulary. I found the FIL paper very interesting, but still some distance away from that part of the real world I see.
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.
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.
The outlook for equities in 2025 has been dominated by one question: will the US market's supremacy continue? Whichever side of the debate you sit on, you should challenge yourself by considering the alternative.
Negative gearing allows investors to deduct rental property expenses, including interest, from taxable income, but its tax concession status is debatable. The real issue lies in the favorable tax treatment of capital gains.
Trump's election has turbocharged US equities, but can that outperformance continue? Expensive valuations, rising bond yields, and a potential narrowing of EPS growth versus the rest of the world, are risks.
Untangling assets after a broken relationship can be daunting. But approaching the situation fully informed, in good health and with open communication can make the process more manageable and less costly.
Unlike their peers in the US and UK, policy makers in Australia haven't faced a bond market rebellion in recent times. This could change if current levels of issuance at the state and territory level continue.
Retirement village contracts often require significant upfront payments, with residents losing control over their money. While they may offer a '100% share in capital gain', it's important to look at the numbers before committing.