Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.
20 April 2024
Recently trending
Reader: "The BEST in the game because of diversity and not aligned to financial products. Stands above all the noise."
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."
Australian Investors Association: "Australia's foremost independent financial newsletter for professionals and self-directed investors."
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: "An island of professionalism in an ocean of shallow self-interest. Well done!"
Reader: "Is one of very few places an investor can go and not have product rammed down their throat. Love your work!"
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."
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: "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."
Ian Kelly, CFP, BTACS Financial Services: "Probably the best source of commentary and information I have seen over the past 20 years."
Jonathan Hoyle, CEO, Stanford Brown: "A fabulous publication. The only must-read weekly publication for the Australian wealth management industry."
Reader: "It's excellent so please don't pollute the content with boring mainstream financial 'waffle' and adverts for stuff we don't want!"
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: "Great resource. Cuffelinks is STILL the one and only weekly newsletter I regularly read."
Rob Henshaw: "When I open my computer each day it's the first link I click - a really great read."
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: "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: " Finding a truly independent and interesting read has been magical for me. Please keep it up and don't change!"
Reader: "Congratulations on a great focussed news source. Australia has a dearth of good quality unbiased financial and wealth management news."
Andrew Buchan, Partner, HLB Mann Judd: "I have told you a thousand times it's the best newsletter."
John Pearce, Chief Investment Officer, Unisuper: "Out of the (many many) investmentrelated emails I get, Cuffelinks is one that I always open."
Don Stammer, leading Australian economist: "Congratulations to all associated. It deserves the good following it has."
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"
David Goldschmidt, Chartered Accountant: "I find this a really excellent newsletter. The best I get. Keep up the good work!"
Ian Silk, CEO, AustralianSuper: "It has become part of my required reading: quality thinking, and (mercifully) to the point."
It's so tempting to get lost in the noise and intrigue of financial markets that we can easily forget what type of investor we are. To have any chance of success, it's critical to avoid playing somebody else’s game.
Five years ago, the move towards passive investment in the US was obvious, and warranted. But there are compelling reasons to think that the next decade will be a more productive environment for active strategies.
Most portfolios will benefit from a mix of passive and active strategies, as there are market conditions where one might do better than the other. ETFs now cover a wide range of structures, not only indexing.
The long bull market allowed passive investing to prosper, but over a whole cycle, companies with better fundamentals will outperform weak ones. The market is finally showing some dispersion.
The rapid rise in investments into passive vehicles is having a distortive effect on markets as the flows are prone to sudden reversals. The cheap cost may come with a paradoxical result.
Making a passive investment requires an active decision, and since index-based funds are structured using market prices, they build in influences of the active factor of price momentum.
It's difficult for investors to find active fund managers that consistently outperform the market over multiple periods, and the claim that active managers do better in falling markets also lacks recent evidence.
Cuffelinks reader, James, has some additional questions covering: bonds for capital gain or income, bonds in a growth strategy, passive vs active investing, unconstrained bond funds and duration risk.
Different styles of investing are suited to different types of people. Knowing which style is best suited to your character and temperament can make a big difference to your investment outcomes.
Investment is more art than science, and even an investor who prefers a 'buy and hold' long term strategy will need to adjust the portfolio. When you think your portfolio is finally set, something will happen to test your resolve.
For any investment strategy, it’s important to consider the risks involved. This simple framework, based on fixed interest funds, can help retail investors assess and understand the risks of investing in index funds.
The ATO has released all the superannuation rates and thresholds that will apply from 1 July 2024. Here's what’s changing and what’s not, and some key considerations and opportunities in the lead up to 30 June and beyond.
Jim Simons has achieved breathtaking returns of 62% p.a. over 33 years, a track record like no other, yet he remains little known to the public. Here’s how he’s done it, and the lessons that can be applied to our own investing.
Life has radically shifted with my brain cancer, and I don’t know if it will ever be the same again. After decades of writing and a dozen years with Firstlinks, I still want to contribute, but exactly how and when I do that is unclear.
Australia will have 3.7 million more people in a decade's time, though the growth won't be evenly distributed. Over 85s will see the fastest growth, while the number of younger people will barely rise.
Being rich is having a high-paying job and accumulating fancy houses and cars, while being wealthy is owning assets that provide passive income, as well as freedom and flexibility. Knowing the difference can reframe your life.
Investor disgust, consolidation, de-listings, price discounts, activist investors entering - it’s what typically happens at business cycle troughs, and it’s happening to LICs now. That may present a potential opportunity.