As many Firstlinks’ readers are aware James Gruber departed for a new opportunity at CommSec. I’m extremely grateful for everything James has done and his stewardship of Firstlinks.
It is never easy to follow a founder and I’m proud of how James continued and expanded upon Graham’s legacy. That legacy is front of mind for me as the temporary custodian ...
One of the more controversial parts of our tax system – the capital gains tax discount – is currently under review in Canberra as part of a Greens-run Senate inquiry. The discount means that taxpayers who hold an asset for more than one year pay tax on only half of their gains.
Most submissions to the Senate inquiry have focused on the level of the ...
Australia enters 2026 with its three largest cities each having an average house price of over $1 million. It’s frustrating for young Aussies like me looking to buy their first home. But it’s also the unsurprising outcome of a persistent, decades-long myth: that falling house prices are electorally fatal.
Prime Minister John Howard set the tone ...
What is an investment bond?
Investment bonds are pooled investments, like managed funds, which can be invested across a variety of asset classes to create diversification. One of the important differences between an investment bond and a managed fund, is that investment bonds are tax-paid. That means tax is paid on the earnings of the underlying ...
2025 was another great year for equity investors, the third year in a row where the ASX 300 returned more than 10%1. All investors want the good times to keep rolling, but the longer they do and the higher valuations creep the closer we are to an inevitable market correction. Investors that want to de-risk their portfolios might be tempted to sell out. ...
Simon Doyle is outgoing CEO and CIO, Schroders Australia.
James Gruber: 22 years at Schroders, most of it as Head of Fixed Income and Multi-Asset and more recently as CEO and CIO, and 38 years in the finance industry – firstly, congratulations on a great career.
Simon Doyle: Thank you.
JG: What are the biggest changes that you’ve seen in the finance ...
With everything happening in the world — from the US push to annex Greenland, to new tariffs against Europe, to military intervention in Venezuela — investors may not be focused on the US midterm elections just yet. But this pivotal contest is just 10 months away, and the campaign starts in earnest next month when President Donald Trump delivers the ...
It is hard to argue against the idea that geopolitical tensions are rising. This type of backdrop can be incredibly difficult to navigate for investors. When the news is filled with discussions of war and conflict, it is natural to lose sight of our long-term investment objectives, and instead become focused on short-term market movements. Yet, ...
This is my last edition as Editor as I am leaving Firstlinks to become Commsec’s Equity Market Strategist.
Morningstar’s Director of Personal Finance, Mark LaMonica, will take over the role until a permanent replacement is found.
It’s been a privilege to work at Firstlinks. I came here three-and-a-half years ago to help Graham Hand. He wanted to focus ...
The RBA has increased interest rates to tame inflation and there’s no shortage of knee jerk reactions. About how it hurts homeowners (of course); about what the RBA will do next, even though almost no one forecast the rate rise a mere four months ago; and about how the government is or isn’t to blame, depending on which side of politics you support.
A ...
While the latest Division 296 draft legislation may have dispensed with an unrealised capital gains tax component, it still has the whiff of a wealth tax about it. That’s because the effective tax rate on earnings, including any realised capital gains, is tied to the Total Superannuation Balance (TSB) and not just the earned income itself.
Though ...
Many people are encouraged to think that their super fund is much like a bank, where they deposit money, earn interest and draw the money out when they retire.
That is a mistake because super funds are nothing like banks. A super fund is structured as a trust. A trust is legal entity that means someone holds property or assets (e.g. money, shares or ...
As many Firstlinks’ readers are aware James Gruber departed for a new opportunity at CommSec. I’m extremely grateful for everything James has done and his stewardship of Firstlinks.
It is never easy to follow a founder and I’m proud of how James continued and expanded upon Graham’s legacy. That legacy is front of mind for me as the temporary custodian ...
One of the more controversial parts of our tax system – the capital gains tax discount – is currently under review in Canberra as part of a Greens-run Senate inquiry. The discount means that taxpayers who hold an asset for more than one year pay tax on only half of their gains.
Most submissions to the Senate inquiry have focused on the level of the ...
Australia enters 2026 with its three largest cities each having an average house price of over $1 million. It’s frustrating for young Aussies like me looking to buy their first home. But it’s also the unsurprising outcome of a persistent, decades-long myth: that falling house prices are electorally fatal.
Prime Minister John Howard set the tone ...
What is an investment bond?
Investment bonds are pooled investments, like managed funds, which can be invested across a variety of asset classes to create diversification. One of the important differences between an investment bond and a managed fund, is that investment bonds are tax-paid. That means tax is paid on the earnings of the underlying ...
2025 was another great year for equity investors, the third year in a row where the ASX 300 returned more than 10%1. All investors want the good times to keep rolling, but the longer they do and the higher valuations creep the closer we are to an inevitable market correction. Investors that want to de-risk their portfolios might be tempted to sell out. ...
Simon Doyle is outgoing CEO and CIO, Schroders Australia.
James Gruber: 22 years at Schroders, most of it as Head of Fixed Income and Multi-Asset and more recently as CEO and CIO, and 38 years in the finance industry – firstly, congratulations on a great career.
Simon Doyle: Thank you.
JG: What are the biggest changes that you’ve seen in the finance ...
With everything happening in the world — from the US push to annex Greenland, to new tariffs against Europe, to military intervention in Venezuela — investors may not be focused on the US midterm elections just yet. But this pivotal contest is just 10 months away, and the campaign starts in earnest next month when President Donald Trump delivers the ...
It is hard to argue against the idea that geopolitical tensions are rising. This type of backdrop can be incredibly difficult to navigate for investors. When the news is filled with discussions of war and conflict, it is natural to lose sight of our long-term investment objectives, and instead become focused on short-term market movements. Yet, ...
This is my last edition as Editor as I am leaving Firstlinks to become Commsec’s Equity Market Strategist.
Morningstar’s Director of Personal Finance, Mark LaMonica, will take over the role until a permanent replacement is found.
It’s been a privilege to work at Firstlinks. I came here three-and-a-half years ago to help Graham Hand. He wanted to focus ...
The RBA has increased interest rates to tame inflation and there’s no shortage of knee jerk reactions. About how it hurts homeowners (of course); about what the RBA will do next, even though almost no one forecast the rate rise a mere four months ago; and about how the government is or isn’t to blame, depending on which side of politics you support.
A ...
While the latest Division 296 draft legislation may have dispensed with an unrealised capital gains tax component, it still has the whiff of a wealth tax about it. That’s because the effective tax rate on earnings, including any realised capital gains, is tied to the Total Superannuation Balance (TSB) and not just the earned income itself.
Though ...
Many people are encouraged to think that their super fund is much like a bank, where they deposit money, earn interest and draw the money out when they retire.
That is a mistake because super funds are nothing like banks. A super fund is structured as a trust. A trust is legal entity that means someone holds property or assets (e.g. money, shares or ...
