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5 March 2026
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An ageing Australia is shifting the superannuation system’s focus from accumulation to the lifecycle of retirement. While these pressures have been anticipated for decades, they are now converging at scale and driving widespread industry change.
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Evidence for a strong reporting season had been piling up for months and validated an upgrade cycle already underway. However, risks remain from policy uncertainity.
One in five Australians die before retirement and most have not set up their super properly so their loved ones can benefit from all their hard work and savings.
Getting a mortgage is never an easy process but when an investment property is purchased in a SMSF the complexity increases significantly. Read this before taking the plunge.
Good advisers lead to more diversification, lower turnover and less home bias. However, studies show the average adviser may not be adding much value to clients.
When the new AFL season kicks off a wild-card will be added to the finals. Is this new formula fair and how does it impact the odds of winning the premiership.
Investors have historically balked at exchanging a lump sum for a future steam of income. Breaking down the financial and emotional considerations of purchasing an annuity.
Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 651 with weekend update 3 4
The market seems increasingly jittery with contradictory predictions about AI flooding in daily. An approach to step back and keep focus.Read More.
Relatively boring, unglamorous, defensive stocks like Kroger and Allstate have quietly outperformed gilded tech giants, offering steady growth, visibility, and resilient returns in a market captivated by AI and flashier industries.
As credit spreads normalised through 2025, yield‑hungry investors have turned to leverage for high returns, uncomfortably echoing pre‑GFC behaviours. Investors need to be careful to understand the true risk‑return trade‑off.
Every investing cycle has its Ozempic moment, a narrative shock so compelling that the market briefly forgets that incumbents can and do adapt to transformative technology like AI.
The best way to deal with the incoming Division 296 tax on superannuation is likely doing nothing. Earnings will be taxed regardless of where the money sits, so here are some important considerations.
It is almost impossible to identify a bubble in real time, and history shows they last far longer than we think, giving investors (perhaps misplaced) hope and short-sellers seemingly endless pain before the share price collapses.
Dealmaking appears to be on the mend, but investors could be well served to look through near-term trends toward six major themes that we think may drive private markets for years to come.
The post-World War Two economic system is unravelling, leading to huge shifts in currency, bond and commodity markets, yet stocks seem oblivious to the chaos. This looks to history as a guide for what’s next.
The renowned investor says 2025’s real story wasn’t AI or US stocks but the shift away from American assets and a collapse in the value of money. And he outlines how to best position portfolios for what’s ahead.
The US has elevated energy to a national security priority, tying cheap, reliable power to economic strength, AI leadership, and sovereignty. This analyses the new framework and its implications for Australia.
China has flooded the world with electric cars and solar panels to offset the economic drag from a weak domestic property market. How long can this go on, and what are the implications for commodities and Australia?
At this time last year, I forecast that 2025 would likely be a positive year given strong economic prospects and disinflation. The outlook for this year is less clear cut and here is what investors should do.
What is progress? Is it GDP growth? Increasing wealth? New and improving technology? This argues that our measure of progress has become warped, and we're heading backwards rather than forwards.
An ‘affordability’ scheme making the county more vulnerable to economic shocks and contributing to the deteriorating financial situation of everyday Australians.
The Reserve Bank continues to face criticism from all sides. A reminder of the RBA's mandate and a review of their track record in maintaining price stability since the early 1990s.
The sector is positioned to benefit from defensive and resilient income streams supported by embedded rental increase opportunities.
There is a laundry list of government schemes to help Australian's struggling with housing affordability. Savvy buyers should take advantage to break into the property market.
A more rational taxation system that supports home ownership but discourages asset speculation could provide greater financial support to first home buyers.
A counterpoint to today’s prevailing narrative that Melbourne is the capital of a failing state defined by its strained public finances, COVID hangover and an opposition obsessed with undermining its own credibility.
Australia needs a major shift in longevity awareness, attitudes and behaviour if, as a community, we are to reap the benefits of increasing longevity. Adopting a national strategy is well overdue.
With fertility rates at a record low, many say young people aren’t having kids because they’re too expensive. Turns out, it’s not that simple and there are likely other factors at play.
The $3 million super tax has many rethinking their super strategies, especially issues of wealth transfer on death. This reviews the taxes on super benefits and offers investment alternatives.
For much of Australia’s history, each new generation has been better off than the last: better jobs and incomes as well as improved living standards. A new report assesses whether this time may be different.
Inspired by the papal conclave, this explores how families can avoid post-death drama through honest conversations, better planning, and trial runs - so there are no surprises when it really matters.
Trusts offer flexibility and asset protection, but in relationship breakdowns, courts can 'look through' them. Understanding control, purpose, and asset origins is key to preserving trust benefits in family law disputes.
CEO Simon Doyle is retiring after 38 years in the finance industry. In an interview with James Gruber, he shares the three main lessons he’s learned, and where he sees opportunities and risks in markets today.
As investors seek to diversify their portfolios, more are looking at private equity to help them do that. Neuberger Berman's Gabriel Ng runs through the different types of private equity and their benefits and trade-offs.
In an interview with Firstlinks, CEO Mark Freeman discusses how speculative ASX stocks have crushed blue chips this year, companies he likes now, and why he’s confident AFIC’s NTA discount will close.
As more money looks for a home outside the US, Asia may soon get some love. Fidelity's Anthony Srom outlines the best places in Asia to invest, including in Chinese consumer names, Indian financials, and Thailand.
Stockland’s development chief discusses supply constraints, government initiatives and the impact of Japanese-owned homebuilders on the industry. He also talks of green shoots in a troubled property market.
Portfolio Manager Ted Alexander outlines the changes that he's made to Platinum's International Fund portfolio since taking charge in March, while staying true to its contrarian, value-focused roots.
The market seems increasingly jittery with contradictory predictions about AI flooding in daily. An approach to step back and keep focus.
A study of expert investors reveals how we can all achieve better investment returns.
Anxiety continues to rise about the impact of AI. Doomsday scenarios include the demise of previously thriving industries like software and the widespread loss of white-collar jobs. Is the universal basic wage the answer?
This is my last edition as Editor of Firstlinks. I’m moving onto a new role though the newsletter will remain in good hands until my permanent replacement is found.
A new year and another TV streaming price hike as Kayo lifts my premium plan by 15% to $45 a month. It follows a barrage of price rises from competitors. We’re paying a lot for convenience and choice nowadays.
There’s one surprising area of the market that’s been left behind over the past year: quality stocks. Not only in Australia, but globally. The likes of REA, CAR Group, and Aristocrat may offer opportunities in an overpriced market.
Retail investors have the worst trading record, according to a study of trading performance. Institutional investors weren't at the top either. Here are 6 ways to improve your odds.
New research explains why high valuations, low dividends and bullish sentiment rarely coexist with strong long-term returns after extended bull markets.
Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver some multiple of an underlying index or reference asset’s return over a day. Yet, they aren’t even delivering the target return on an average day as they’re meant to do.
Both active and passive investing can work, but active investment doesn’t in the way it is practised by many fund managers and passive investing doesn’t work in the way most end investors practise it. Here’s a better way.
How does a strategy built around systematically buying-and-holding a basket of the market's biggest losers perform? It turns out pretty well, so why don't more investors do it?
The structure of many dividend ETFs leads to lacklustre or non-existent dividend growth. Balancing high yields with long-term dividend growth is essential for effective income investing.
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Investment podcast – March 2026.
Video: Investment update with John Pearce – February 2026.
launches new active ETF, the VanEck Cash Plus Active ETF (ASX: MONY).
You can’t freely withdraw your super before 65. You need to meet certain legal conditions tied to your age, whether you’ve retired, or if you're using a transition to retirement option.
The RBA's prescription to hike rates may not work to lower inflation into the bank’s 2-3% target band. If anything, there appears to be a positive correlation between interest rates and inflation.
Markets have become instrumental in finding new ways for investors and philanthropists to make a social impact with the potential for good returns.
One of Buffett's most successful investments has been a confectionery company that he bought more than 50 years ago. The investment demonstrates that stocks need not be growth companies to create fortunes.
For those with the patience to own an investment as volatile as the AI sector, buying and holding a stock basket might make sense. However, based on internet stocks’ history, you need not rush to do so.
Stocks always outperform bonds in the long-term, right? New research challenges that assumption, raising questions about historical financial data, and forecasts for future performance from the two largest asset classes.