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29 December 2025
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RC lies and damned lies, Blue Sky shorting, end of the bull run, blockchain founder, tax-free pensions, Smith v Jones, merit of two SMSFs, Third Link.
One of the founding fathers of blockchain technology and an expert in cryptography and distributed computing first mentioned in 1991 a blockchain that utilised digital time-stamps for ordering transactions.
Everyone’s calling for the end of the long bull-run in equities. But we don’t know if the end is a few months or a few years away, and technological change is so vast that historical lessons need to be tempered.
The use of separate SMSFs for accumulation and pensions stages to minimise tax obligations may attract the ire of the ATO, but there may be other, more legitimate, reasons for using this strategy.
Denying imputation credit tax refunds to the SMSF as taxpayer will reduce its income, causing pension funds to deplete faster, and its members to turn to the age pension quicker. This isn’t an outcome the Government desires.
A reader asks whether people can stay off the age pension by reducing the amount of money they live on in retirement but not drawing on their capital.
The bank bill/OIS swap rate may seen arcane but if it stays at current elevated levels, it may increase rates for borrowers in the same way as an increase in cash rates by the Reserve Bank.
An innovative idea to donate to charities the fees paid by investors in a fund has become an annual flow of about $2 million to needy causes as the 10th anniversary is reached.
The rapid price fall of Blue Sky following a poor report from a foreign seller makes it look as if short selling is easy, but there are many risks and details to consider along the way.
Retirement isn’t a clean financial arc. Income shocks, health costs and family pressures hit at random, exposing the limits of age-based planning and the myth of a predictable “retirement journey".
The superannuation system has succeeded brilliantly at what it was designed to do: accumulate wealth during working lives. The next challenge is meeting members’ diverse needs in retirement.
Two years ago, I wrote an article suggesting that the odds favoured ASX shares easily outperforming residential property over the next decade. Here’s an update on where things stand today.
I am a professional real estate investor who hears a lot of opinions rather than facts from so-called experts on the topic of property. Here are the largest myths when it comes to Australia’s biggest asset class.
In an interview with Firstlinks, CEO Mark Freeman discusses how speculative ASX stocks have crushed blue chips this year, companies he likes now, and why he’s confident AFIC’s NTA discount will close.
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.