Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.
30 April 2025
Recently trending
Reader: "Carry on as you are - well done. The average investor/SMSF trustee needs all the help they can get."
Reader: "Great resource. Cuffelinks is STILL the one and only weekly newsletter I regularly read."
Reader: "Love it, just keep doing what you are doing. It is the right length too, any longer and it might become a bit overwhelming."
Don Stammer, leading Australian economist: "Congratulations to all associated. It deserves the good following it has."
Reader: "An island of professionalism in an ocean of shallow self-interest. Well done!"
Reader: "I can quickly sort the items that I am interested in, then research them more fully. It is also a regular reminder that I need to do this."
Steve: "The best that comes into our world each week. This is the only one that is never, ever canned before fully being reviewed by yours truly."
David Goldschmidt, Chartered Accountant: "I find this a really excellent newsletter. The best I get. Keep up the good work!"
Ian Silk, CEO, AustralianSuper: "It has become part of my required reading: quality thinking, and (mercifully) to the point."
John Pearce, Chief Investment Officer, Unisuper: "Out of the (many many) investmentrelated emails I get, Cuffelinks is one that I always open."
Eleanor Dartnall, AFA Adviser of the Year, 2014: "Our clients love your newsletter. Your articles are avidly read by advisers and they learn a great deal."
Scott Pape, author of The Barefoot Investor: "I'm an avid reader of Cuffelinks. Thanks for the wonderful resource you have here, it really is first class."
Rob Henshaw: "When I open my computer each day it's the first link I click - a really great read."
Reader: "Congratulations on a great focussed news source. Australia has a dearth of good quality unbiased financial and wealth management news."
Jonathan Hoyle, CEO, Stanford Brown: "A fabulous publication. The only must-read weekly publication for the Australian wealth management industry."
Andrew Buchan, Partner, HLB Mann Judd: "I have told you a thousand times it's the best newsletter."
John Egan, Egan Associates: "My heartiest congratulations. Your panel of contributors is very impressive and keep your readers fully informed."
Australian Investors Association: "Australia's foremost independent financial newsletter for professionals and self-directed investors."
Noel Whittaker, author and financial adviser: "A fabulous weekly newsletter that is packed full of independent financial advice."
Reader: "It's excellent so please don't pollute the content with boring mainstream financial 'waffle' and adverts for stuff we don't want!"
Reader: "Is one of very few places an investor can go and not have product rammed down their throat. Love your work!"
Reader: "Best innovation I have seen whilst an investor for 25 years. The writers are brilliant. A great publication which I look forward to."
Ian Kelly, CFP, BTACS Financial Services: "Probably the best source of commentary and information I have seen over the past 20 years."
Reader: "I subscribe to two newsletters. This is my first read of the week. Thank you. Excellent and please keep up the good work!"
Reader: "Keep it up - the independence is refreshing and is demonstrated by the variety of well credentialed commentators."
Reader: " Finding a truly independent and interesting read has been magical for me. Please keep it up and don't change!"
Professor Robert Deutsch: "This has got to be the best set of articles on economic and financial matters. Always something worthwhile reading in Firstlinks. Thankyou"
Reader: "The BEST in the game because of diversity and not aligned to financial products. Stands above all the noise."
Risk revisited by Howard Marks, hedging fx exposure, risk aversion and women's retirement, calculating intrinsic value, slowing of productivity growth and changes to personal credit reporting.
According to CFSGAM's research, Australian Gen-X women remain most at risk of not meeting their retirement objectives, in part due to an aversion to growth assets since the GFC, despite the market's recovery.
Howard Marks is best known in the global investment community for his ‘Oaktree Memos’ to clients which detail investment strategies and economic insights. Here are some extracts from his latest memo, Risk Revisited Again.
Investing in foreign assets brings with it foreign currency exposure. Your return not only depends on the performance of the asset but on changes in the exchange rate, which can work against you or for you.
When building an investment portfolio it's a good idea to buy quality companies at a discount to intrinsic value. But what is that, and how does it fit into portfolio construction?
Investors need to be aware of what’s happening to productivity and how this will affect future returns and the affordability of tax-payer funded pensions, especially if company profits fall.
Understanding what information is held on a consumer’s credit report can provide a pathway for negotiating better credit terms, whether or not a person has a strong credit history.
The famed investor says the rapid switch from globalisation to trade wars is the biggest upheaval in the investing environment since World War Two. And a new world requires a different investment approach.
Trump's tariffs and China's retaliatory strike have sent the Nasdaq into a bear market with the S&P 500 not far behind. What are the implications for the economy and markets, and what should investors do now?
Labor has announced a $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program, aimed at slashing the cost of home batteries. The goal is to turbocharge battery uptake, though practical difficulties may prevent that happening.
Are you living your life by default or by design? It strikes me that many people are doing the former and living according to others’ expectations of them, leading to poor choices including with their finances.
Larry Fink is one of the smartest people in the finance industry. In his latest shareholder letter, the Blackrock CEO outlines his quest to become the biggest player in private assets and upend investor portfolios.
Every crisis throws up opportunities. Here are ideas to capitalise on this one, including ‘overbalancing’ your portfolio in stocks, buying heavily discounted LICs, and cherry picking bombed out sectors like oil and gas.