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11 January 2026

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Edition: 496

1-8 out of 8 results.

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 496 with weekend update

  • 16 February 2023
  • 4

Ask 400,000 people to toss a coin and there will be 200,000 tails and 200,000 heads. If the game continues, one person versus another, after 15 tosses, about a dozen winning flippers will remain. They become the tossing experts explaining their success. They have an instinct for it. Is funds management different?

$5 million cap punishes 30 years of super saving

The ATO Commissioner called large super balances "accidents of history" but the industry has rolled over on a $5 million cap. Wealth compounds remarkably over decades and long-term saving should be encouraged.

Should I maximise my pension by investing in the family home?

Additional investment in the family home to maximise the age pension becomes a straitjacket. To voluntarily plan this outcome comes at a high price in terms of reduced income and loss of discretion over your own affairs.

Banks are punishing the most vulnerable

Interest rates are up again, with promises of more to come, but a major story is being glossed over in all the reporting. Large institutions have a feeding frenzy when people become vulnerable or get into trouble.

Meg on SMSFs: Is it better to wait until July to start your pension?

The 'transfer balance cap' will increase to $1.9 million from 1st July, but only those who don't start pensions until then will get the full increase. Many retirees are wondering if they should wait to start pensions in their SMSFs.

There are good reasons interest rates need to rise

  Interest rates are political dynamite in Australia given high home ownership and household debt. But increased rates are not bad for everyone and they are what's needed after the serious central banking errors of the past decade.

Five proposed changes to superannuation

The taxation of superannuation in Australia is complex, inequitable and subject to regular change. These features reduce the long-term confidence of Australians in their superannuation system. We should do better.

Defining contrarianism in three stocks

Contrarian investing is not about doing the opposite to everyone else no matter what, it’s having courage in your convictions in a disciplined investment process. Here are examples of contrarian investing in practice.

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Treasury has released draft legislation for a new version of the controversial $3 million super tax. It's a significant improvement on the original proposal but there are some stings in the tail.

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