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Edition: 478

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Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 478 with weekend update

  • 6 October 2022
  • 22

If you are wondering whether bankers are really so mean as to withhold interest rate increases on deposit accounts to make more profits, the answer is yes. Banks will use the rate rises to increase margins. Plus we explore why 'running out of money' is overstated for retiree homeowners.

Homeowner retirees should not ‘run out of money’

A retired couple with up to $419,000 in assets plus a family home can receive a full age pension of $40,000 a year (worth maybe $1 million) plus many other benefits. With home equity access, money should not run out.  

The five most common topics for advisers and their clients

An explanation of five areas of most interest to financial advisers and their clients, including home equity access, downsizing, Senior Cards, work tests and new transfer balance caps - all worth knowing about.

How to identify overvalued small cap companies

Favourable investment conditions created bubbles in 2021 but sectors such as BNPL with poor businesses and no profits have seen a payback. Is lithium next? At least small companies are potential takeover targets.

Financial literacy for older Australians has gone nowhere

It feels like financial planning for retirement has been running up and down on the spot for 20 years. We still struggle with the difference between general and personal advice. What happened to the worthwhile schemes?

Positioning a portfolio for today's market conditions

Value investing relies on a fundamental assessment of the intrinsic worth of a company, based on risk and reward. Time has come for the more stable sectors such as the Utilities, Health Care or Consumer Staples.

The energy crisis is likely to last years

History will show Europe was ill-advised to rely on Russian fossil fuels, and the energy crisis has delivered stark choices on climate change, government finances, inequality, inflation, politics and social cohesion.

How powerful are Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party?

Neither Xi Jinping nor the Chinese Communist Party are as all-powerful and domineering as they  seem. Given China's crucial role in Australia's fortunes despite slowing growth, understanding its politics is critical.

Most viewed in recent weeks

Why have Australian living standards 'fallen' and how do we fix it?

For the last few years there has been much talk of a 'cost-of-living' crisis in Australia and of 'falling living standards'. Lately this has flared up again with the pickup in inflation resulting in a renewed fall in real wages.

Will you run out of money in retirement?

Fear of running out has become a defining retirement anxiety. Why do some retirees die with substantial wealth while others deplete their nest egg? Evidence suggests the answer is more complicated than we think. 

Four options for an income investor’s next dollar

What if Australia’s golden age of dividends is ending? Rather than overhaul your portfolio, it may be worth considering where new capital can work harder. I discuss four income strategies and the trade-offs behind each.

The investment that sidesteps the new tax traps

Tax rules have changed, but many investors are still using yesterday’s strategies. Insurance bonds may offer advantages for those seeking greater control, tax efficiency and certainty about their wealth.

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 674 with weekend update

What begins as appetite, grows into excess and ultimately ends in spectacle. Millions of investors just discovered this the hard way.

  • 6 August 2026

Testamentary trusts have secured the CGT exemption

Treasury’s latest CGT reform draft delivers a win for testamentary trusts and deceased estates, exempting estate-derived gains from the 30% floor. However, questions on death and divorce rollovers remain unresolved.

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