Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.
24 January 2026
Recently trending
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 Kelly, CFP, BTACS Financial Services: "Probably the best source of commentary and information I have seen over the past 20 years."
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."
Ian Silk, CEO, AustralianSuper: "It has become part of my required reading: quality thinking, and (mercifully) to the point."
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."
Noel Whittaker, author and financial adviser: "A fabulous weekly newsletter that is packed full of independent financial advice."
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."
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."
Andrew Buchan, Partner, HLB Mann Judd: "I have told you a thousand times it's the best newsletter."
Reader: "Great resource. Cuffelinks is STILL the one and only weekly newsletter I regularly read."
Don Stammer, leading Australian economist: "Congratulations to all associated. It deserves the good following it has."
Reader: "Is one of very few places an investor can go and not have product rammed down their throat. Love your 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!"
Reader: "I subscribe to two newsletters. This is my first read of the week. Thank you. Excellent and please keep up the good work!"
Reader: "Carry on as you are - well done. The average investor/SMSF trustee needs all the help they can get."
Reader: "The BEST in the game because of diversity and not aligned to financial products. Stands above all the noise."
Jonathan Hoyle, CEO, Stanford Brown: "A fabulous publication. The only must-read weekly publication for the Australian wealth management industry."
Rob Henshaw: "When I open my computer each day it's the first link I click - a really great read."
Reader: "Keep it up - the independence is refreshing and is demonstrated by the variety of well credentialed commentators."
John Pearce, Chief Investment Officer, Unisuper: "Out of the (many many) investmentrelated emails I get, Cuffelinks is one that I always open."
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."
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: "Congratulations on a great focussed news source. Australia has a dearth of good quality unbiased financial and wealth management news."
Reader: "Best innovation I have seen whilst an investor for 25 years. The writers are brilliant. A great publication which I look forward to."
John Egan, Egan Associates: "My heartiest congratulations. Your panel of contributors is very impressive and keep your readers fully informed."
Gold surged in 2025, driven by risk and dollar weakness. Looking to 2026, the outlook is shaped by ongoing geoeconomic uncertainty. Gold may remain rangebound if current conditions persist. However, 2026 will likely continue to surprise.
The gold industry faces a momentous transformation due to new technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency. This report explores how digitalisation could redefine gold's role in financial markets.
A second quarter of significant investment in gold-backed ETFs, along with elevated bar and coin buying, drove total Q2 gold demand up 3% y/y to 1,249t. Meanwhile, jewellery consumption weakened further in the face of record gold prices.
Gold rose 26% in H1 2025, outpacing major asset classes. As we look forward, consensus expectations of macroeconomic drivers suggest that gold may remain range-bound in H2 with the possibility of some upside.
Key factors that have fuelled gold’s price rise in 2025 include the spectre of US tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty, stock market volatility and US dollar weakness. A sharp revival in gold ETF inflows led to a more-than-doubling of total investment demand for the quarter.
Gold demand hit a new record in 2024 on the back of central bank buying, continued growth in AI adoption, investment and gold bar purchasing, while annual jewellery consumption was down reflecting cost-of-living pressures.
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.
Claims that Division 296 double-taxes franking credits misunderstand imputation: franking credits are SMSF income, not company tax, and ensure earnings are taxed once at the correct rate.
For the first time in decades, the Big 4 banks have real competition in home loans. Macquarie is quickly gain market share, which threatens both the earnings and dividends of the major banks in the years ahead.
Investor focus is turning increasingly to AI-related risks: is it a bubble about to burst, tipping the US into recession? Or is it the onset of a third industrial revolution? And what would either scenario mean for markets?
Cyclical stocks surge in upswings but falter in downturns. Compounders - reliable, scalable, resilient businesses - offer smoother, superior returns over the full investment cycle for patient investors.
A-REITs are often viewed as passive rental vehicles, but today’s index tells a different story. Development and funds management now dominate earnings, materially increasing volatility and risk for the sector.
Dairy farming offers real asset exposure, steady income and long-term growth, yet remains overlooked by investors seeking diversification beyond traditional asset classes.