Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.
21 March 2026
Recently trending
Don Stammer, leading Australian economist: "Congratulations to all associated. It deserves the good following it has."
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."
Ian Kelly, CFP, BTACS Financial Services: "Probably the best source of commentary and information I have seen over the past 20 years."
John Egan, Egan Associates: "My heartiest congratulations. Your panel of contributors is very impressive and keep your readers fully informed."
Ian Silk, CEO, AustralianSuper: "It has become part of my required reading: quality thinking, and (mercifully) to the point."
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: "It's excellent so please don't pollute the content with boring mainstream financial 'waffle' and adverts for stuff we don't want!"
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."
Reader: "Keep it up - the independence is refreshing and is demonstrated by the variety of well credentialed commentators."
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."
Noel Whittaker, author and financial adviser: "A fabulous weekly newsletter that is packed full of independent financial advice."
Reader: "Great resource. Cuffelinks is STILL the one and only weekly newsletter I regularly read."
Reader: "Is one of very few places an investor can go and not have product rammed down their throat. Love your work!"
Reader: "Carry on as you are - well done. The average investor/SMSF trustee needs all the help they can get."
Rob Henshaw: "When I open my computer each day it's the first link I click - a really great read."
Andrew Buchan, Partner, HLB Mann Judd: "I have told you a thousand times it's the best newsletter."
Reader: " Finding a truly independent and interesting read has been magical for me. Please keep it up and don't change!"
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: "Best innovation I have seen whilst an investor for 25 years. The writers are brilliant. A great publication which I look forward to."
Reader: "An island of professionalism in an ocean of shallow self-interest. Well done!"
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: "Congratulations on a great focussed news source. Australia has a dearth of good quality unbiased financial and wealth management news."
Reader: "The BEST in the game because of diversity and not aligned to financial products. Stands above all the noise."
Many retail investors have turned to unrated or high-yield corporate bonds in recent years, but conditions have been favourable. Watch for the once-a-decade spikes in default rates.
The implications for hybrids, bank margins and bank fees from the increase in the risk-weighting of residential mortgages and learning our banks are not top quartile among the capital levels of global banks.
Until recently, institutional investors did not buy many bank hybrids, leaving issue size and margins subject to retail demand. But retail investors, including SMSFs, no longer have the market to themselves.
Diversified income funds have been extremely popular and have performed well recently, but ‘income’ is often not really income at all. If there is a reversal in some or all of the underlying factors, returns are at risk.
With the upcoming budget increasingly likely to include bold proposals to alter the tax code I’ve outlined three incremental steps with fewer unintended consequences.
The impact of the Iran War is far more than expensive petrol. Higher oil prices have secondary inflationary impacts that reverberate throughout the economy which could be bad news for Australians with mortgages.
Global Listed Infrastructure dividends are forecast to grow 5-6% p.a over the next two years. After a hiatus, share buybacks are back on the agenda and will play an integral role in shareholder returns.
Past oil shocks offer lessons for investors dealing with the fallout from the Iran War and the ongoing impact on inflation.
Former Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating, once said "When you change the government, you change the country." We're about to see whether that holds true in Japan.
Central banks now hold more gold reserves than US Treasuries, signalling a shift in safe-haven asset strategy and portfolio diversification as geopolitical risks increase.
Historically economic progress is measured by GDP growth but there is an increasing body of work that explores quantitative measures of wellbeing.