Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.
12 November 2025
Recently trending
Reader: " Finding a truly independent and interesting read has been magical for me. Please keep it up and don't change!"
John Pearce, Chief Investment Officer, Unisuper: "Out of the (many many) investmentrelated emails I get, Cuffelinks is one that I always open."
Noel Whittaker, author and financial adviser: "A fabulous weekly newsletter that is packed full of independent financial advice."
David Goldschmidt, Chartered Accountant: "I find this a really excellent newsletter. The best I get. Keep up the good work!"
Ian Kelly, CFP, BTACS Financial Services: "Probably the best source of commentary and information I have seen over the past 20 years."
Reader: "The BEST in the game because of diversity and not aligned to financial products. Stands above all the noise."
Reader: "I subscribe to two newsletters. This is my first read of the week. Thank you. Excellent and please keep up the good work!"
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"
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: "Carry on as you are - well done. The average investor/SMSF trustee needs all the help they can get."
John Egan, Egan Associates: "My heartiest congratulations. Your panel of contributors is very impressive and keep your readers fully informed."
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: "An island of professionalism in an ocean of shallow self-interest. Well done!"
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: "Congratulations on a great focussed news source. Australia has a dearth of good quality unbiased financial and wealth management news."
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: "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."
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."
Andrew Buchan, Partner, HLB Mann Judd: "I have told you a thousand times it's the best newsletter."
Ian Silk, CEO, AustralianSuper: "It has become part of my required reading: quality thinking, and (mercifully) to the point."
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."
Reader: "Great resource. Cuffelinks is STILL the one and only weekly newsletter I regularly read."
Reader: "Keep it up - the independence is refreshing and is demonstrated by the variety of well credentialed commentators."
Jonathan Hoyle, CEO, Stanford Brown: "A fabulous publication. The only must-read weekly publication for the Australian wealth management industry."
Utilities are companies that produce and deliver basic essential services such as electricity, natural gas and water. These services are delivered by a network of assets that require the use of public rights-of-way. Crucially, these networks exhibit attributes of a natural monopoly: the extensive capital required to construct the assets make it difficult for another company to compete profitably against the incumbent.
Due to this natural monopoly, governments have generally operated utilities but in recent decades they have handed the responsibility to private operators under licence.
To gain this licence, a utility agrees to submit to economic regulation governing the rates it can charge customers. In exchange, the regulator promises to set prices fairly so that the utility can cover its costs effectively and make a reasonable profit considering the risks involved. While returns set by regulators can be modest compared with other sectors, utilities are often assured a minimum return regardless of how the economy is performing because demand for their services is constant. The minimum returns provide an incentive for future or potential asset owners to invest in new or existing infrastructure. This means utility stocks can provide stable earnings and cash flows.
Download the full paper
More Australians are retiring with larger mortgages and less super. This paper explores how unlocking housing wealth can help ease the nation’s growing retirement cashflow crunch.
In any year since 1875, if you'd invested in the ASX, turned away and come back eight years later, your average return would be 120% with no negative periods. It's just one of the must-have stats that all investors should know.
With investor sentiment shifting and ETFs surging ahead, we pit Australia’s biggest LICs against their ETF rivals to see which delivers better returns over the short and long term. The results are revealing.
Family trusts remain a core structure for wealth management, but rising ATO scrutiny and complex compliance raise questions about their ongoing value. Are the benefits still worth the administrative burden?
Labor has caved to pressure on key parts of the Division 296 tax, though also added some important nuances. Here are six experts’ views on the changes and what they mean for you.
Thoughtful tax planning is a cornerstone of successful investing. This highlights 13 legal ways that you can reduce tax, preserve capital, and enhance long-term wealth across super, property, and shares.
A new academic study shows that almost all Australians agree that there is a housing crisis yet we can’t agree on how to fix it and are sharply divided along generational and ideological lines.
Despite soaring retiree wealth, public spending on older Australians continues to rise. The result: retirees now out-earn the young, exposing structural flaws in the tax system and challenges for fiscal sustainability.
As a relentless fee war grips Australia’s ETF market, investors may be missing the real battleground. Beyond basis points, index design itself - not cost - may be the most powerful driver of returns.
It seems the mere mention of franking credits generates a lot of heat but not much light. Here's a guide to how franking credits work, and the impact they have on both companies and shareholders.
As the bull market revs up, some investors worry about a possible correction. History shows the real question isn’t timing the top, but whether you have the time and liquidity to ride out inevitable downturns.
The 2025 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index shows Australia has dropped to its lowest ranking in the 17 years of the index. This explores why we're falling and what can be done about it.
High-profile wine regions don’t always see strong property growth - volume, exports, and infrastructure investment often matter more than reputation in driving regional property markets.