Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.
3 September 2025
Recently trending
Reader: "Is one of very few places an investor can go and not have product rammed down their throat. Love your work!"
Ian Silk, CEO, AustralianSuper: "It has become part of my required reading: quality thinking, and (mercifully) to the point."
Reader: "Best innovation I have seen whilst an investor for 25 years. The writers are brilliant. A great publication which I look forward to."
Noel Whittaker, author and financial adviser: "A fabulous weekly newsletter that is packed full of independent financial advice."
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 Pearce, Chief Investment Officer, Unisuper: "Out of the (many many) investmentrelated emails I get, Cuffelinks is one that I always open."
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."
John Egan, Egan Associates: "My heartiest congratulations. Your panel of contributors is very impressive and keep your readers fully informed."
Don Stammer, leading Australian economist: "Congratulations to all associated. It deserves the good following it has."
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."
Jonathan Hoyle, CEO, Stanford Brown: "A fabulous publication. The only must-read weekly publication for the Australian wealth management industry."
David Goldschmidt, Chartered Accountant: "I find this a really excellent newsletter. The best I get. Keep up the good work!"
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!"
Reader: "Carry on as you are - well done. The average investor/SMSF trustee needs all the help they can get."
Reader: "Great resource. Cuffelinks is STILL the one and only weekly newsletter I regularly read."
Ian Kelly, CFP, BTACS Financial Services: "Probably the best source of commentary and information I have seen over the past 20 years."
Reader: "Congratulations on a great focussed news source. Australia has a dearth of good quality unbiased financial and wealth management news."
Reader: "I subscribe to two newsletters. This is my first read of the week. Thank you. Excellent and please keep up the good work!"
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: "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: "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: "The BEST in the game because of diversity and not aligned to financial products. Stands above all the noise."
The intention to save more is common, but it's often easier to procrastinate. There are useful techniques the wealth industry should consider to overcome this reluctance to save, to everyone's benefit.
It's too simple to assume that more choice is better for consumers and investors. It can lead to indecision and inaction, and yet some platforms persist in adding dozens of funds each year to an already vast range.
Financial literacy levels in Australia and around the world are worryingly low, which impacts the way financial advice is received and understood. Is the message getting through, or should advisers give clients this simple test?
By focussing specifically on hedge fund disclosure, ASIC has missed an opportunity to address the bigger picture of investor protection in a world of complex investments.
Life annuities is a product with theoretical appeal but it does not gather significant market acceptance. These behavioural reasons need to be addressed before substantial increases in sales occur.
Lifetime annuities have some attractive features but remain neglected by most retirees. There are rational reasons for this, which the annuity industry has to overcome if the product is to address more longevity worries.
An explosion in low-skilled migration to Australia has depressed wages, killed productivity, and cut rental vacancy rates to near decades-lows. It’s time both sides of politics addressed the issue.
This AI cycle feels less like a revolution and more like a rerun. Just like fibre in 2000, shale in 2014, and cannabis in 2019, the technology or product is real but the capital cycle will be brutal. Investors beware.
Australian housing’s 50-year boom was driven by falling rates and rising borrowing power — not rent or yield. With those drivers exhausted, future returns must reconcile with economic fundamentals. Are we ready?
Despite mixed ASX results, the market has shown surprising resilience. With rate cuts ahead and economic conditions improving, investors should look beyond short-term noise and position for a potential cyclical upswing.
BWT Trust has moved to bring management in house. Meanwhile, many of the properties it leases to Bunnings have been repriced to materially higher rents. This has removed two of the key 'snags' holding back the stock.
With APRA phasing out bank hybrids from 2027, investors must reassess these complex instruments. A synthetic hybrid strategy may offer similar returns but with greater control and clearer understanding of risks.
The magnitude of founder Jensen Huang’s selldown may seem small, but the signal is hard to ignore. When the person with the clearest insight into the company’s future starts cashing out, it’s worth asking why.