Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.
7 October 2025
Recently trending
Ian Kelly, CFP, BTACS Financial Services: "Probably the best source of commentary and information I have seen over the past 20 years."
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."
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."
Noel Whittaker, author and financial adviser: "A fabulous weekly newsletter that is packed full of independent financial advice."
Jonathan Hoyle, CEO, Stanford Brown: "A fabulous publication. The only must-read weekly publication for the Australian wealth management industry."
Reader: "Is one of very few places an investor can go and not have product rammed down their throat. Love your work!"
Reader: "The BEST in the game because of diversity and not aligned to financial products. Stands above all the noise."
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: " Finding a truly independent and interesting read has been magical for me. Please keep it up and don't change!"
Don Stammer, leading Australian economist: "Congratulations to all associated. It deserves the good following it has."
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: "Love it, just keep doing what you are doing. It is the right length too, any longer and it might become a bit overwhelming."
Reader: "Best innovation I have seen whilst an investor for 25 years. The writers are brilliant. A great publication which I look forward to."
John Pearce, Chief Investment Officer, Unisuper: "Out of the (many many) investmentrelated emails I get, Cuffelinks is one that I always open."
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."
Reader: "An island of professionalism in an ocean of shallow self-interest. Well done!"
David Goldschmidt, Chartered Accountant: "I find this a really excellent newsletter. The best I get. Keep up the good work!"
John Egan, Egan Associates: "My heartiest congratulations. Your panel of contributors is very impressive and keep your readers fully informed."
Andrew Buchan, Partner, HLB Mann Judd: "I have told you a thousand times it's the best newsletter."
Reader: "Carry on as you are - well done. The average investor/SMSF trustee needs all the help they can get."
Rob Henshaw: "When I open my computer each day it's the first link I click - a really great read."
Reader: "Keep it up - the independence is refreshing and is demonstrated by the variety of well credentialed commentators."
Reader: "Congratulations on a great focussed news source. Australia has a dearth of good quality unbiased financial and wealth management news."
Reader: "I subscribe to two newsletters. This is my first read of the week. Thank you. Excellent and please keep up the good work!"
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."
Reader: "Great resource. Cuffelinks is STILL the one and only weekly newsletter I regularly read."
Ian Silk, CEO, AustralianSuper: "It has become part of my required reading: quality thinking, and (mercifully) to the point."
The great fee debate continues, a fund that's the best and the worst, real estate investing, options for saving for kids, looking further into company announcements, and the similarities between running and investing.
In part 2 of the great fee debate, it's the investors' turn to reassess their expectations regarding management and performance fees, and to understand what it takes to find (and pay for) top managers.
How could a managed fund lose 96.5% of its value and then gain 767%, to become both the worst and best performing fund in Australia? From financial crisis to recovery, the answer is in the timing and the structure.
Securitisation and the increased sophistication of the real estate industry have led to new ways to repackage property assets as investment opportunities - each with vastly different risk, return and liquidity features.
There are many investment options for children beyond a savings account, but the merits of each are different for everyone. Here's some guidance for parents of both younger and older kids.
Company releases relating to acquisitions, mergers or divestments, by nature, have the objective of painting a positive outlook. A deeper dive into the facts allows us to make more educated investment decisions.
There are more than a few similarities between running and investing. Success in either discipline is about having specific goals and strategies, avoiding the big risks, and not diverting from your plan.
Most investors seek re-assurance, certainty, confidence, comfort and rational explanations from finance professionals, but what they often get is jargon-laden confusion. We have much to learn about effective communication.
This AI cycle feels less like a revolution and more like a rerun. Just like fibre in 2000, shale in 2014, and cannabis in 2019, the technology or product is real but the capital cycle will be brutal. Investors beware.
An explosion in low-skilled migration to Australia has depressed wages, killed productivity, and cut rental vacancy rates to near decades-lows. It’s time both sides of politics addressed the issue.
LICs are continuing to struggle with large discounts and frustrated investors are wondering whether it’s worth holding onto them. This explains why the next 6-12 months will be make or break for many LICs.
Australian housing’s 50-year boom was driven by falling rates and rising borrowing power — not rent or yield. With those drivers exhausted, future returns must reconcile with economic fundamentals. Are we ready?
Younger Australians think they’ll need $100k a year in retirement - nearly double what current retirees spend. Expectations are rising fast, but are they realistic or just another case of lifestyle inflation?
This week, I got the news that my mother has dementia. It came shortly after my father received the same diagnosis. This is a meditation on getting old and my regrets in not getting my parents’ affairs in order sooner.