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20 March 2026
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We like a good debate, and when two opposing views argued about the role of government bonds in a diversified portfolio, a veteran of 30 years in fixed interest stepped in as referee.
Guest Editor, Warren Bird, worked with Chris Cuffe at Colonial First State, and he brings clarity to the complex world of fixed interest, bonds and investing. Here are his favourite articles from the past six years.
Claims that zero tax rates on superannuation pension funds are a rort are misinformed because they ignore the taxes paid to put money into super, and the social contract that super was designed for.
In the week that marks 30 years since Chris Cuffe joined what became Colonial First State, a former colleague reflects on what makes a business successful, and what may have been lost from those early days.
The current system is fundamentally fair as domestic shareholders pay tax on fully franked dividends at their own tax rate. This is what imputation should achieve and why we need franking credits refunded.
The reality of investing in a bond is that regardless of whether we have experienced a massive bull market, the most a bond is worth at maturity is the face value.
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.