Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.
15 November 2025
Recently trending
Reader: " Finding a truly independent and interesting read has been magical for me. Please keep it up and don't change!"
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: "Is one of very few places an investor can go and not have product rammed down their throat. Love your work!"
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."
John Egan, Egan Associates: "My heartiest congratulations. Your panel of contributors is very impressive and keep your readers fully informed."
John Pearce, Chief Investment Officer, Unisuper: "Out of the (many many) investmentrelated emails I get, Cuffelinks is one that I always open."
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: "I subscribe to two newsletters. This is my first read of the week. Thank you. Excellent and please keep up the good work!"
David Goldschmidt, Chartered Accountant: "I find this a really excellent newsletter. The best I get. Keep up the good work!"
Reader: "An island of professionalism in an ocean of shallow self-interest. Well done!"
Rob Henshaw: "When I open my computer each day it's the first link I click - a really great read."
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."
Reader: "The BEST in the game because of diversity and not aligned to financial products. Stands above all the noise."
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: "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."
Don Stammer, leading Australian economist: "Congratulations to all associated. It deserves the good following it has."
Reader: "It's excellent so please don't pollute the content with boring mainstream financial 'waffle' and adverts for stuff we don't want!"
Ian Silk, CEO, AustralianSuper: "It has become part of my required reading: quality thinking, and (mercifully) to the point."
Reader: "Congratulations on a great focussed news source. Australia has a dearth of good quality unbiased financial and wealth management news."
Reader: "Great resource. Cuffelinks is STILL the one and only weekly newsletter I regularly read."
Andrew Buchan, Partner, HLB Mann Judd: "I have told you a thousand times it's the best newsletter."
Ian Kelly, CFP, BTACS Financial Services: "Probably the best source of commentary and information I have seen over the past 20 years."
Noel Whittaker, author and financial adviser: "A fabulous weekly newsletter that is packed full of independent financial advice."
Reader: "Keep it up - the independence is refreshing and is demonstrated by the variety of well credentialed commentators."
Reader: "Carry on as you are - well done. The average investor/SMSF trustee needs all the help they can get."
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."
An SMSF can buy business real property and lease it to a member and the laws and processes are clear. The rent paid is classed as income from the investment rather than a contribution from the member.
It is not a standard end of financial year, as there are many items SMSF trustees and super members should check immediately, especially with the changes taking effect from 1 July 2017.
Australia needs capital for infrastructure, and SMSF trustees want direct access to assets with yield and long-term security. It's a win-win if governments can find a structure to bring the two together.
There are clear signs the Murray Inquiry plans to reintroduce a prohibition on borrowing by superannuation funds including SMSFs, and there is a strong case to protect the retirement savings of the unwary.
A quick explanation of what’s going on with recent changes around super and tax. Financial planners are already working on ways to minimise the impacts for their clients.
Contribution splitting allows a super member to split up to 85% of concessional contributions received in a financial year with their spouse, and there are times when this is a good strategy.
Your age pension entitlement is assessed under the Income Test, and it may be worth re-setting the deductible amount to improve your pension payments if it's been a while since the last calculation.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports from the Cuffelinks article on SMSFs and property spruikers, highlighting some of the risks of a small SMSF taking on large amounts of debt, and becoming unable to meet its obligations. The full Cuffelinks article appears below.
SMSFs are being targeted by property marketers, but is a single, illiquid investment a good super strategy, with its associated leverage? ASIC is worried SMSF trustees are not seeing the full picture, so we went looking.
Around the world, real interest rates are now unusually low or even negative. The hunt for real yield that’s become a preoccupation of investors is likely to remain a dominant feature of investment markets for several years at least.
Every SMSF should have 'industrial strength' administration that is timely, accurate, honest and in conformity with a vast array of rules and regulations.
It is inequitable for the ATO to require an SMSF to make advance payments of the estimated tax for the year, but not pay refunds in advance based on estimated franking credits.
More Australians are retiring with larger mortgages and less super. This paper explores how unlocking housing wealth can help ease the nation’s growing retirement cashflow crunch.
In any year since 1875, if you'd invested in the ASX, turned away and come back eight years later, your average return would be 120% with no negative periods. It's just one of the must-have stats that all investors should know.
With investor sentiment shifting and ETFs surging ahead, we pit Australia’s biggest LICs against their ETF rivals to see which delivers better returns over the short and long term. The results are revealing.
Family trusts remain a core structure for wealth management, but rising ATO scrutiny and complex compliance raise questions about their ongoing value. Are the benefits still worth the administrative burden?
Thoughtful tax planning is a cornerstone of successful investing. This highlights 13 legal ways that you can reduce tax, preserve capital, and enhance long-term wealth across super, property, and shares.
Labor has caved to pressure on key parts of the Division 296 tax, though also added some important nuances. Here are six experts’ views on the changes and what they mean for you.