My Investments Update – September 2025
Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my August 2025 Investments Update here if you like.
I’ll begin as usual with my Nutmeg Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).
As regular readers will know, in June I transferred most of the money in my Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio (just under £25,000) to a new Nutmeg Income Portfolio. I discussed this in detail in this recent post, but basically money in this port is invested to generate an income from share dividends and other sources. This is then paid monthly. Capital appreciation is targeted as well, but these portfolios are aimed primarily at older people (and others) who want/need their investment to generate a regular cash income.
In August my Nutmeg income portfolio generated £134.03 of income, which was duly paid in to my bank account on 22 August 2025. Based on Nutmeg’s estimated annual return of just under 5% for income ports at my chosen risk level (five), I had been expecting around £100, so this was somewhat better than that. Obviously it is far too early to draw any conclusions, though.
My income portfolio has also grown a little in value in August. It’s now worth £25,815 compared with £25,793 at the start of last month, an increase of £22. As the screen capture shows, the port has actually grown in value by £862.76 (3.46%) since I opened it.
I still have a smaller, growth-oriented pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £4,368 compared with £4,346 a month ago, a rise of £22. Here is a screen capture showing performance for the year to date.
And at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg’s thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March 2024 I also invested a further £200 from referral bonuses (something I no longer receive for reasons I won’t bore you with). As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £868 compared with £863 last month, a rise of £5.
Finally, I still have a small amount left in my original Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio. I have kept this largely for comparison purposes. This has increased in value from £594 at the start of August to £595 now, a rise of £1.
As you can see, August was a steady, if unexciting, month for my Nutmeg investments. Overall I was up by £50 or 0.16%. In addition I did, of course, receive £134.03 in income from my income portfolio.
Excluding income generated, the overall value of my Nutmeg investments is up by £1,218 since the start of 2025, so the April 2025 fall (caused largely by Trump’s tariffs) has now fully reversed. I am also up by £2,413 or 7.48% since the start of September last year, again excluding cash income received. All things considered, that’s not a bad result.
As I always have to say, some volatility is to be expected with stock market investments, but over the longer term they tend to even themselves out (and generally perform better than bank savings accounts, although that is never guaranteed). In general the worst thing you can do is panic and sell up when downturns occur (as happened in April this year). You are then crystallizing your losses rather than giving the markets time to recover. This is something I had cause to discuss in this blog post from earlier this year.
You can read my full Nutmeg review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last nine years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.
Moving on, I also have investments with P2P property investment platform Assetz Exchange. As discussed in this post, the company has rebranded as Housemartin.
My investments with Housemartin continue to generate steady returns. Housemartin focuses on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.
Since I opened my account, my HM portfolio has generated a respectable £266.87 in revenue from rental income. I have made a small net loss of £19.02 on property disposals. Capital growth generally has slowed, in line with UK property values generally.
At the time of writing, 16 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 3 are breaking even, and the remaining 19 are showing losses. My portfolio of 38 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £59.59. That means that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease and loss on disposal) I am up by £188.26. That’s still a respectable return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Housemartin most projects are socially beneficial as well.
The net fall in capital value of my Housemartin investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the latest price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other HM projects to further diversify my portfolio).
To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of Housemartin as far as i am concerned. You can actually invest from as little as £1 per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.
- As I noted in this blog post, Housemartin is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I usually reinvest this money in either a new HM project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with Housemartin grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.
My investment on Housemartin is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Housemartin and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my full review of Assetz Exchange/Housemartin here and my article about the rebranding to Housemartin here. You can also sign up for an account directly via this link [affiliate].
In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).
In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.
As you can see from the screen captures below, my original investment (total value £888.36 in pounds sterling) is today worth £1,085.93, an overall increase of £197.57 or 22.24%.
- Note: eToro now displays the value of investments in your native currency, although you can change this if you wish.
You can read my full review of eToro here. You may also like to check out my more in-depth look at eToro copy trading. I also discussed thematic investing with eToro using Smart Portfolios in this recent post. The latter also reveals why I took the somewhat contrarian step of choosing the oil industry for my first thematic investment with them.
As you can see, my Oil WorldWide investment is in profit, though at 11.14% it is nothing too exciting. My copy trading investment with Aukie2008 has been doing better, with an overall 51.32% profit. To be fair, I have held this investment a bit longer.
My Tesla shares, which I bought as an afterthought with some spare cash I had in my account, are up again this month. They are showing an impressive overall profit of 200.36% since I bought them. If only I had put a bit more money into this!
You might also notice that I have small holdings in Prosus NV, a Dutch internet group, and South Bow, a Canadian energy infrastructure company. To be honest I don’t understand how I acquired these, but I assume they are some sort of bonus I was awarded. In any event, I am happy to have them in my portfolio.
- eToro also offer the free eToro Money app. This allows you to deposit money to your eToro account without paying any currency conversion fees, saving you up to £5 for every £1,000 you deposit. You can also use the app to withdraw funds from your eToro account instantly to your bank account. I tried this myself and was impressed with how quickly and seamlessly it worked. You can read my blog post about eToro Money here. Note that it can also serve as a cryptocurrency wallet, allowing you to send and receive crypto from any other wallet address in the world.
If you would like more information about setting up an eToro account, please click on this no-obligation website link [affiliate]. Don’t forget that you also get a free $100,000 virtual portfolio, which you can use to experiment with trading and investing strategies. I have certainly earned a lot from mine.
As an experiment, I recently put £50 into an investment ISA with Trading 212. As mentioned in my recent blog post about dividend investing, I put it into the (Almost) Daily Dividends Portfolio, a ready-made portfolio or ‘pie’ on Trading 212. As you can see from the screen capture below, my portfolio is now worth £55.17, an increase of £5.17 or 10.3% over the four-month period. It has even accrued a grand total of 38p in dividends!
I am quite impressed with how this investment has been faring, despite the small amount I put in (which means I may be missing out on some smaller dividends). If I increased my investment I would almost certainly become eligible for more dividends, and even more the longer I remain invested. If I had any spare money at the moment, I would consider doing this. Of course, I do now have an income-focused portfolio with Nutmeg as well (see above).
Moving on, 
In Here’s Why I’m Not a Fan of FIRE I talked about the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement and explained why I am not an aficionado. I set out various reasons, including the impossibility of planning and predicting your life twenty or thirty years into the future.
In Could a Smart Thermostat Save You Money? I explained what these devices are and set out some hints and tips for making the most of them. I also discussed my own experience with a Hive smart thermostat.
In How to Check Your Tax Code and Correct it if Necessary I explained how to check this important piece of financial data. I revealed what the code means and what you should do if you believe yours is wrong. In my view everyone should check their tax code, as if it’s incorrect you may be paying too much tax or, conversely, too little. In the latter case you will still have to pay the tax when the error is discovered, potentially with added interest as well.
How Over-50s Can Save and Make Money Using Vinted discusses this very popular buying-and-selling platform among younger people. In the article I point out that Vinted can be an invaluable resource for older folk as well. I explain how it works and set out some hints and tips for making the most of it.
Finally, in Dividend Investing vs Total Return: Which Works Best for Income Investors? I look at these two popular approaches to drawing an income from your investments. Of course, this is something many retired and semi-retired people want (or need) to do. I compare the pros and cons of each method and discuss my personal experience.
I’ll close with a reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter (or X as we have to call it now). Twitter/X is my number one social media platform and I post regularly there. I share the latest news and information on financial matters, and other things that interest, amuse or concern me. So if you aren’t following my PAS account on Twitter/X, you are definitely missing out!
- I am also on the BlueSky social media network under the username poundsandsense.bsky.social. Twitter/X remains my primary social media platform, but I also post details of my latest blog posts, third-party articles and other financial news and resources on BlueSky for those who prefer to follow me there.
As always, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers 
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.
Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!