Register For Our Mailing List

Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.

Register

9 October 2026

Home / 314

Welcome to the Firstlinks Edition 314

Welcome to the Firstlinks Edition 314
Graham Hand

Graham Hand


Strange times indeed. Despite US and Australian equity markets near all-time highs and superannuation funds enjoying record inflows, the wealth industry is undergoing a severe overhaul. Unprecedented numbers of fund managers are not only struggling but closing their doors. AMP is desperate to define a coherent advice strategy. Deutsche Bank announced a worldwide cull of 18,000 jobs, with an Australian closure of equity research, trading, sales, derivatives and capital markets. Financial advice groups are wondering how they will survive without grandfathered commissions, and many advisers will leave the industry.

What is disrupting asset managers? We lead with 10 reasons why many fund managers are quitting the market or shutting funds, and it has little to do with the popular excuses for everything like the Royal Commission, the Productivity Commission or technology changes.

Continuing our Interview Series, Nathan Hughes of Perpetual Investments explains how he manages an ethical fund and the importance of sticking to some long-term, proven principles.

Last time I went to Europe, €1,000 cost me A$1,620, but at the airport, the price would have been over A$2,000. Marcus Christoe offers four better ways to manage your FX travel needs.

What a turnaround in property since the election! Justin McCarthy shows why it has improved, and the implications for investors in the fixed interest funding markets.

Water resources and agribusiness have made headlines recently, and Cullen Gunn says investing in food and water assets is undergoing much greater sophistication.

Into the tax year, Julie Steed explains the new work test exemptions, while Warren Bird pushes back on those people who think they are somehow entitled to an age pension.

We prefer to focus on enduring investing ideas rather than speculate about the direction of markets. Every day, there are opposing views about the future prospects for the economy and stockmarkets, and I have no better predictive abilities than rolling a dice. Central banks seem determined to do 'whatever it takes' to prevent falling prices driven by deflationary forces, and who knows when the market will punish them. Selling 'risk assets' and holding cash for protection has been the wrong strategy for almost a decade.

This week's White Paper by MFS Investment Management called 'Emphasize the essentials' takes a similar critical view of trying to forecast the unknowable, including:

"It's better to look at what makes companies unique - their competitive advantages, ability to generate free cash flow and intellectual property - than it is to guess whether their cost of capital will decline by 25 basis points."

Graham Hand, Managing Editor

 

For a PDF version of this week’s newsletter articles, click here.

 

  •   12 July 2019
  •      
  •   

 

Leave a Comment:
Firstlinks is sponsored by:
banner

Most viewed in recent weeks

Why spending more in early retirement can improve lifetime income

Conventional wisdom encourages retirees to preserve superannuation. But if those likely to qualify for the Age Pension later in life spend a little more today, it may deliver higher lifetime income and a more stable retirement.

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?

Is it time to bail on Australian stocks?

For generations, Australian investors have backed banks, miners and dividends. But has that loyalty come at a cost? A look at the numbers raises an uncomfortable question about where future returns will come from.

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.

The new capital gains tax trap for your portfolio

Investors have long accepted one portfolio rule without much question. A major tax shift could change that calculation entirely, forcing difficult trade-offs between risk, discipline and an overlooked cost lurking beneath.

The investing rule that explains the next market crash

What if investment success depends less on picking the right assets and more on understanding the decisions of other investors? A principle borrowed from game theory offers a different perspective on markets.

Latest Updates

Fixed interest

Higher yields are creating opportunities in global bonds

Bond markets are adjusting to a new reality, but not in the ways investors expect. With markets repricing and capital competing for attention, investors may need to rethink where resilience and opportunity lie. 

Economy

Are we in a recession?

What if the warning signs are already everywhere? From supermarket aisles to company failures, investors are being bombarded with recession signals. But most face a different risk that can be just as dangerous for portfolios. 

SMSF strategies

Meg on SMSFs - Division 296 actuarial certificates

The tax bill might be yours, but the event that caused it may not be. A key Division 296 calculation can sometimes attribute earnings in ways that many SMSF trustees won't instinctively expect or fully appreciate.

Property

The first impact of negative gearing reform is not the tax bill

Negative gearing changes formally begin in 2027, but the first consequences may already be here. A subtle shift is quietly influencing who can borrow, how much they can access and which property strategies still stack up.

Economy

The oil market is running out of easy answers

The biggest threat to markets may not be what investors are watching. The numbers have stopped adding up and supply is harder to measure, with forecasts becoming simple guesses. A more fragile reality is being masked.

Investment strategies

The state of investor knowledge in Australia

Australians are investing more than ever, yet a surprising divide is emerging between those building wealth effectively and those making costly mistakes. Surprisingly, the gap has little to do with income, age or starting capital.

Taxation

Complexity and capital gains

A case study shows that the ‘30% minimum CGT’ is a poorly conceived tax that adds significant complexity to an already over-complex system. A less complicated model would create a much fairer progressive tax scale.

Sponsors

Alliances

  • ASA-Logo-RGB-ActiveGreen-web.png

Site Map

About Firstlinks

© 2026 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer
The data, research and opinions provided here are for information purposes; are not an offer to buy or sell a security; and are not warranted to be correct, complete or accurate. Morningstar, its affiliates, and third-party content providers are not responsible for any investment decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the data and analyses or their use. To the extent any content is general advice, it has been prepared for clients of Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892), without reference to your financial objectives, situation or needs. For more information refer to our Financial Services Guide. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision to invest. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product’s future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a professional financial adviser. Articles are current as at date of publication.
This website contains information and opinions provided by third parties. Inclusion of this information does not necessarily represent Morningstar’s positions, strategies or opinions and should not be considered an endorsement by Morningstar.