5 October 2026

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Why spending more in early retirement can improve lifetime income Is it time to bail on Australian stocks?Testamentary trusts survived the trust tax. The drafting battle has just begun.Meg on SMSFs: What do we think about reversionary pensions these days?It’s time for LICs to die

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Home / Author: Graham

Graham

Has FoFA become the Failure of Financial Advice?

In solving problems relating to conflicts and best interest duties, comprehensive financial advice has become so expensive that it will be increasingly confined to the wealthy. Is that what we want?

Graham Hand
11 September 2019
33

CFSGAM rebrands to First Sentier Investors

First Sentier Investors is the new name for Colonial First State Global Asset Management, completing the separation from CBA. It's the end of an era for the business Chris Cuffe led for 14 years.

Graham Hand
11 September 2019

Lessons from the Future Fund for retail investors

The Annual Report from Australia's sovereign wealth fund reveals new ways it is investing in fixed income and alternatives. The Fund considers its portfolio as one overall risk position with downside protection in one asset class allowing more risk in another.

Graham Hand
5 September 2019
11
7

Magellan’s Vihari Ross on the players in the team

The companies that earn a place in an investment portfolio are like the players in a sporting team. They must perform strongly and complement each other, and not keep someone out who is better.

Graham Hand
28 August 2019
1
8

Alex Vynokur on how ETFs disrupted investing

ETFs are doing to funds management what Spotify did to music. All investors and product providers need to adapt. Active managers can no longer justify index hugging at active fees.

Graham Hand
20 August 2019
6
11

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 319

A couple of weeks ago, a mate hosted his 70th birthday bash (thanks for asking, no, I am nowhere near that age). He was surrounded by his children, grandchildren and dozens of friends. As waiters brought out fine food and wine, he said the last few years had been the happiest of his life. As Paul Keating wrote in an early edition of Cuffelinks, the years from 60 to 80 should be about retirement living and lifestyle.

Graham Hand
14 August 2019
1
5

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Latest Updates

Exchange traded products

It’s time for LICs to die

A high-profile dividend cut and a prominent fund manager’s apology have reignited a long-running debate. If investors can access similar exposures more cheaply and efficiently elsewhere, what exactly is keeping LICs alive?

David Tuckwell
30 September 2026
69

Taxation

Will investors be better or worse off under new housing tax changes?

Housing tax reforms have sparked warnings of market turmoil and promises of greater fairness. But after modelling nearly two decades of property data, the results suggest winners and losers may not be who many investors expect.

Elyse Dwyer, Nick Garvin
30 September 2026
14

Retirement

Three considerations before reshaping your legacy plan

Many retirees hope to leave a legacy. Proposed trust tax reforms could force families to rethink. The question is not how much to leave behind, but whether today's inheritance plans will still make sense as circumstances change.

Felipe Araujo
30 September 2026
6

Investment strategies

Why experienced investors still get markets wrong

Retirement is approaching. Markets are noisy. And every headline seems to demand action. The biggest investment risk isn't fear, greed or market volatility, it often arrives disguised as research and sensible risk management.

Neil Rogan
30 September 2026
2

Why pay more for less?

Conditions were stacked in favour of professional investors in 2026. Most still fell short, raising questions about where investors should look for value. Meanwhile, an alternative strategy continued to make its case.

Russel Chesler
30 September 2026

Investment strategies

Bleeding air out of the bubble

Equity valuations have fallen sharply over the past year, yet investors have largely been spared the volatility and losses that typically accompany a de-rating. What explains this unusually orderly reset? Here are five key drivers.

Amr Hanafy, Jeff Blazek
30 September 2026
2

Strategy

Has AI gone rogue?

We worry about AI becoming conscious. But what if consciousness isn't the issue? The more unsettling possibility is a machine capable of pursuing objectives relentlessly, without motives, emotions, or awareness of any kind.

Tony Dillon
30 September 2026
9

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