Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.
30 March 2026
Recently trending
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: "Congratulations on a great focussed news source. Australia has a dearth of good quality unbiased financial and wealth management news."
Reader: "Carry on as you are - well done. The average investor/SMSF trustee needs all the help they can get."
Ian Silk, CEO, AustralianSuper: "It has become part of my required reading: quality thinking, and (mercifully) to the point."
John Pearce, Chief Investment Officer, Unisuper: "Out of the (many many) investmentrelated emails I get, Cuffelinks is one that I always open."
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"
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."
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."
Noel Whittaker, author and financial adviser: "A fabulous weekly newsletter that is packed full of independent financial advice."
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: "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."
Ian Kelly, CFP, BTACS Financial Services: "Probably the best source of commentary and information I have seen over the past 20 years."
Reader: "I subscribe to two newsletters. This is my first read of the week. Thank you. Excellent and please keep up the good work!"
Reader: "Great resource. Cuffelinks is STILL the one and only weekly newsletter I regularly read."
Don Stammer, leading Australian economist: "Congratulations to all associated. It deserves the good following it has."
Reader: "Is one of very few places an investor can go and not have product rammed down their throat. Love your work!"
Reader: " Finding a truly independent and interesting read has been magical for me. Please keep it up and don't change!"
John Egan, Egan Associates: "My heartiest congratulations. Your panel of contributors is very impressive and keep your readers fully informed."
Jonathan Hoyle, CEO, Stanford Brown: "A fabulous publication. The only must-read weekly publication for the Australian wealth management industry."
Reader: "An island of professionalism in an ocean of shallow self-interest. Well done!"
Rob Henshaw: "When I open my computer each day it's the first link I click - a really great read."
Andrew Buchan, Partner, HLB Mann Judd: "I have told you a thousand times it's the best newsletter."
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: "Keep it up - the independence is refreshing and is demonstrated by the variety of well credentialed commentators."
Reader: "Best innovation I have seen whilst an investor for 25 years. The writers are brilliant. A great publication which I look forward to."
David Goldschmidt, Chartered Accountant: "I find this a really excellent newsletter. The best I get. Keep up the good work!"
Reader: "The BEST in the game because of diversity and not aligned to financial products. Stands above all the noise."
Stock buybacks improve earnings per share, making it look like better company performance. In the US, if buybacks stop for any reason, both management and investors alike will have to shift earnings per share expectations downwards.
Marketplace or peer-to-peer lending is well established overseas and growing rapidly in Australia, but investors should understand the risks and the returns, as described in the first part of this debate.
The rise in bond rates in the US in 2018 has tilted investment opportunities away from the easy choice of collecting higher dividends on shares, and now, greater prudence is required.
Among the focus on tech stocks and healthcare sectors, the quality in consumer staples stocks tends to be overlooked, but these are the companies we continue to buy from in all economic circumstances.
Many active managers are closet indexers. The real cost of forcing a skilled manager into a low tracking error is the limit to the upside.
A better approach to sustainable investing is to actively select for better ESG scores and identify companies with a positive impact. Fund managers have an important advocacy role.
Bond investing is not only buy and hold and traditional return sources such as income, changing yields and duration. Relative value identifies market inefficiencies and uses risk management techniques in all market conditions.
The movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, not only took a journey into the future, it glimpsed many technologies that are now with us. It’s time to look ahead to future asset allocations.
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.
Many investors in global portfolios overlook the currency exposure and should consider leaving hedging decisions to specialists. There is no single optimal hedging strategy as conditions vary over time.
Investors shouldn't automatically assume the inclusion of bonds in a portfolio provides diversity against their equity exposure, as correlations can change in volatile markets.
Home cooking and value investing have much in common. While it takes more time and effort to carefully assemble the right ingredients, the results can pay off over the long run.
A more rational taxation system that supports home ownership but discourages asset speculation could provide greater financial support to first home buyers.
One in five Australians die before retirement and most have not set up their super properly so their loved ones can benefit from all their hard work and savings.
An ageing Australia is shifting the superannuation system’s focus from accumulation to the lifecycle of retirement. While these pressures have been anticipated for decades, they are now converging at scale and driving widespread industry change.
The 20 years after Peter Costello left Treasury have been deemed wasted...by Peter Costello. The missed opportunities for Australia began long before.
The best way to deal with the incoming Division 296 tax on superannuation is likely doing nothing. Earnings will be taxed regardless of where the money sits, so here are some important considerations.
An ‘affordability’ scheme making the county more vulnerable to economic shocks and contributing to the deteriorating financial situation of everyday Australians.