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Robin Bowerman

Interactive: where will your goals take you?

This excellent Interactive Index Chart shows market performance of various asset classes since 1970, and allows readers to compare the growth of $10,000 invested in these asset classes over historical periods.

Some trustees should self-manage out of SMSFs

Although over one million Australians are trustees of SMSFs, ASIC reports that many do not have the expertise or time to take responsibility to manage their own superannuation.

When no decision is the right one for super

Superannuation funds strive for increased engagement from their members, but is there merit in the decision not to choose? Evidence shows default options perform well compared with the 'choose your own' path.

The value of Adviser's Alpha explained

The main benefit a financial adviser can give clients is not in stock picking or selecting an outperforming manager, but acting as a wealth coach and helping to control emotions.

You get what you don’t pay for

While there is a role for both active and passive investments in portfolios, the impact of relatively small reductions in management fees can compound to large amounts over a lifetime of saving.

Preparing for the ups-and-downs of 2017

When markets deliver lower returns, investors need to save more, learn about investments and stay the course to achieve their retirement goals. Diversification is an effective way to weather uncertain times.

Latest Updates

Weekly Editorial

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 639 with weekend update

Thank you for the hundreds of responses to our Reader Survey and to maximise the sample size, we’re leaving it open until this Sunday. Here is an overview of the results so far.

  • 27 November 2025
  • 2
Investment strategies

Where to hide in the ‘everything bubble’

It might not be quite an ‘everything bubble’ but there’s froth in many assets, not just US stocks, right now. It might be time to stress test your portfolio and consider assets that could offer you shelter if trouble is coming.

Investment strategies

The ultimate investing hack: dividend growth stocks

Investors often fall prey to ‘amygdala hijacks,’ letting emotion trump reason. By focusing on dividend-growth with stocks instead of volatile prices, you can steady your mindset and let compounding do the work. 

Investment strategies

CBA or global banks?

CBA’s recent pullback highlights single-stock risk. Global banks trade at lower P/Es with rising earnings and dividends, offering investors both income potential and long-term value beyond the local market.

Investment strategies

Global dividends rising, but Australia lags

Global dividend growth surged in the third quarter, with median growth of almost 6%. Australia was a notable exception as dividends fell, thanks to flagging mining company payouts.

Economy

I called inflation's rise and fall and here's what's next

In 2020, I warned that surging US money supply growth would spark inflation. By early 2023, I said US money supply was dropping dramatically and that meant inflation would decline. Here's what happens next.

Superannuation

Are excessive super funds giving Australia “Dutch Disease”?

The irony is profound: a system designed to secure Australians’ futures may be systematically dismantling the economic diversity necessary for long-term prosperity.

Investment strategies

Could your children pass the inheritance ‘stress test’?

You devote years of your life working, saving and investing, striving to build a legacy that will outlive you. Before any wealth moves to the next generation, here are six questions every parent should ask themselves.

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