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It’s time for LICs to die Testamentary trusts survived the trust tax. The drafting battle has just begun.The new capital gains tax trap for your portfolio The retirement scorecard: how many of these questions can you answer?How the typical Australian Family could save $844,350 in taxes

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Most Popular Articles of 2021

Graham Hand
5 January 2022
2

Each week, Firstlinks receives far more articles than we accept. We usually publish seven articles a week, with selections based on relevance of the topic for our audience, quality of the writing and expected popularity.

After almost a decade of publishing, we usually have a decent idea how popular an article will be. Sometimes, we publish an article which is fresh and smart although we know it will not attract high views. It will work well for a minority of readers and so it has a place. It's about the quality not only the metrics.

What distinguished 2021 was the number of articles that unexpectedly went 'viral'. While a typical good quality read on an investment topic might receive 5,000 views on our system, we had eight articles this year over 20,000 hits.

Often, an article hits a chord with a particular group, such as financial advisers, and it is widely circulated to their clients. Other times it is linked by other publications or social media and attracts a bigger audience. It is not easy to predict or cause these events.

The 10 most-read articles follow three themes. Based on our reader surveys, two categories - retirement planning and housing - are understandable given our relatively wealthy, self-directed and 'older' audience. The third is unexpected, the widespread interest in social security issues such as pension eligibility. Are the high views due to a desire to learn about current eligibility, the potential as a future safety net, or something else? Any feedback welcome.

(Click on the article to read it).

	Title	Date	Hits
1	10 little-known pension traps prove the value of advice	15 Dec	48298
2	House prices surge but falls are common and coming	6 Oct	37272
3	10 reasons wealthy homeowners shouldn't receive welfare	15 Sep	33867
4	Check eligibility for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card	22 Dec	27046
5	Unexpected results in our retirement income survey	11 Aug	21599
6	The looming excess of housing and why prices will fall	1 Sep	21395
7	Survey responses on pension eligibility for wealthy homeowners	22 Sep	20031
8	Stop treating the family home as a retirement sacred cow	27 Oct	20013
9	Three steps to planning your spending in retirement	7 Jul	19619
10	100 Aussies: five charts on who earns, pays and owns	6 Oct	19079
11	24 hot stocks and funds for 2021	6 Jan	18225
12	Three good comments from the pension asset test article	29 Sep	17550
13	Three all-time best tables for every adviser and investor	18 Aug	16900
14	Importance of remaining rational and why Bitcoin is worthless	4 Aug	16790
15	Invest in Australian value stocks before it is too late	24 Feb	15699
16	Turning point: the 2020s baby boom retirement surge	24 Mar	15128
17	Four simple strategies deliver long-term investing comfort	20 Jan	14813
18	Super changes, the Budget and 2021 versus 2022	12 May	14802
19	Retirement income promise relies on spending capital	28 Jul	14416
20	400th Edition Special: 45 of the best investment ideas	24 Mar	14258
21	Five stocks that have worked well in our portfolios	25 Aug	14017
22	Great new ways the Government helps retirees	20 Jan	14012
23	Finding sustainable dividend stocks on the ASX	30 Jun	13694
24	Grantham interview on the coming day of reckoning	2 Jun	13229
25	Two strong themes and companies that will benefit	20 Oct	13061
26	Five stock recoveries not hanging on COVID predictions	16 Jun	13030
27	Cut it out ... millionaires are not wealthy	20 Jan	12893
28	Hamish Douglass on why the movie hasn’t ended yet	15 Dec	12796
29	The risk-return tradeoff: What’s the right asset mix for a 5% return?	14 Apr	12518
30	How long will my retirement savings last?	7 Apr	12382
31	Noel's share winners and loser plus budget reality check	19 May	12222
32	The hazards of asset allocation in a late-stage major bubble	13 Jan	12079
33	Five timeless lessons from a life in investing	28 Apr	11955
34	$100 billion! Five reasons investors are flocking to ETFs	10 Feb	11902
35	4 key materials for batteries and 9 companies that will benefit	13 Oct	11707
36	Buffett's favourite indicator versus all-in equities	21 Apr	11658
37	Peak to peak, which LIC managers performed during COVID?	16 Jun	11293
38	In fact, most people have no super when they die	14 Apr	11158
39	Best and worst performing equity funds of 2020	13 Jan	11005
40	20 punches: my personal investments are not a forecast	8 Dec	11000
41	Why mega-tech growth are the best ‘value’ stocks in the market	7 Jul	10937
42	Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 433 with weekend update	11 Nov	10821
43	Among key trends in Australian banks, one factor stands out	14 Jul	10808
44	Four bubbly market pockets show heightened risk for investors	10 Mar	10608
45	BHP v Rio v Fortescue: it's all about the iron ore price	2 Jun	10408
46	The sorry saga of housing affordability and ownership	29 Sep	10328
47	Reducing the $5,300 upfront cost of financial advice	20 Oct	10184
48	Why has Australia slipped down the global super ranks?	10 Nov	10162

Many thanks to the hundreds of experts who wrote for us in 2021 and we look forward to publishing the best again in 2022. And thanks to our readers of these and the hundreds of articles published each year.

Graham Hand is Managing Editor of Firstlinks. My thanks to Christian Townsend and James Renton from Master Publisher who provide and support our Content Management System for producing this table and for their quick responses throughout 2021.

The articles should be read in the context of when they were published, and they do not consider the personal circumstances of any investor.

5 January 2022
2

2 Comments

Alex
January 05, 2022

Well done on making it to 10 years, I've been with you since the second or third year.

john
January 07, 2022

I would be be interested to know in regard to lifetime income products where only 60 per cent of the sum invested counts for the assets test.
What is the optimum assets test cut-off point $$ point value wise for a couple ??
So that a couple can receive the aged pension and receive a lifetime income stream at the same time
Also is there a graph that would help with this from a full to a part aged pension ??
John

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It’s time for LICs to die

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David Tuckwell
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Testamentary trusts survived the trust tax. The drafting battle has just begun.

The fight over testamentary trusts looked settled. Then the draft legislation arrived. Hidden in a technical detail is a question that could force many families to rethink wills they thought were already future-proof.

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From the maths of retirement, estimating spending and picking the right asset allocation to survive a poor decade, here are the questions every retiree – current or future – should be able to answer for themselves.

Mark LaMonica CFA
14 October 2026

How the typical Australian Family could save $844,350 in taxes

The value of a testamentary trust is not determined by wealth alone. Depending on circumstances, it can reduce the tax burden on inherited income, create efficiencies and help build intergenerational wealth.

Abbey John
23 September 2026

The housing slide could become a crash

House prices are sliding across Australia, yet the most dangerous ingredient for a housing crash is still missing. If job losses surge amid growing economic risks, today's correction could become a historic property downturn.

Michael Collins
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Testamentary trusts: Treasury has picked the wrong reading

A decades-old estate planning tool has survived one tax crackdown only to be caught by another. The surprise isn't who the reform is targeting, but who could end up paying the price for drafting choices made years ago.

Rachael Rofe
21 October 2026
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Does an American retirement rule work for Australians?

The 4% rule has survived decades of scrutiny, but Australia's retirement system changes the equation in ways most overlook. Before accepting or rejecting this rule of thumb, it pays to understand what really drives retirement outcomes.

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Glencore lands on the ASX. Should BHP and Rio shareholders switch?

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Three common sense reforms that Australia needs

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The hidden cost of government debt for investors

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Most Popular Articles of 2021