My Investments Update – September 2025

Nick Investing events, reviews 0 Comments

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, I published various posts on Pounds and Sense in August. I have listed below those that are still relevant.

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!

Nutmeg Launches New Income Investing Portfolios

Nick Investing reviews, events 2 Comments

Today I am looking at the new income investing option recently introduced by UK robo-adviser platform Nutmeg. This is designed for people who want to receive a regular monthly income while keeping their money invested (and hopefully still growing).

As a long-term Nutmeg investor myself (you can read my in-depth review here), I have already taken advantage of this opportunity. I will discuss my personal experience (so far) in more detail below. But first, here’s how it works in a nut(meg)shell, how it compares with Nutmeg’s traditional growth portfolios, and who might benefit the most.

How Nutmeg’s Income Portfolios Work

1. Powered by J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM)

Nutmeg has collaborated with JPMAM to construct five risk‑rated portfolios, built around actively managed income-focused ETFs – including the JP Morgan Equity Premium Income strategy – so you’re investing in income-optimized assets while staying diversified.

2. Five Risk Levels to Suit You

You can choose from five different risk levels, ranging from 1 (cautious) to 5 (adventurous), based on your circumstances, goals and appetite for risk. Each level offers a different blend of equity and bond exposure to balance income generation with capital stability.

Here’s a table describing Nutmeg’s five income portfolio risk levels in simple terms…

📌 Note: All portfolios are actively managed and diversified, but the mix of assets changes based on your selected risk level. Income smoothing and monthly payouts are available across all five.

3. Monthly Payouts with Optional Smoothing

One standout feature is income smoothing. This spreads out income across the year, so you receive consistent monthly payments – even if dividends or yields vary from month to month. This feature is optional, however – you can turn smoothing off if you’d rather receive income as it’s earned every month.

4. No Nutmeg Management Fee for 2025

These portfolios are available via ISA or General Investment Accounts (non-ISA) and have no Nutmeg management fee for the rest of 2025, though underlying ETF costs apply. A minimum investment of £10,000 is required.

5. Capital Remains Invested

Your core investment stays fully invested in the market – providing the potential for capital preservation or growth alongside the monthly income stream.

While Nutmeg’s growth-oriented portfolios reinvest dividends to compound, the income portfolios are specifically structured to generate ongoing monthly payments. This is ideal for those needing a regular income rather than capital appreciation (though some capital appreciation will hopefully occur as well).

Who Are These Portfolios Best For?

• Retirees or near‑retirees needing a dependable income stream without selling assets.

• Those reducing work hours or with varied income, using the monthly payouts to smooth out earnings.

• Investors frustrated with traditional bond/dividend returns – Nutmeg’s own research shows 69% of UK investors prioritize income, yet many are unhappy with current options.

• Investors seeking simplicity – You set your risk level once and Nutmeg then handles asset selection, portfolio rebalancing and (optional) income smoothing. As with all Nutmeg investments, you can change your risk level later if you wish (though some extra costs may be incurred when doing so).

Pros and Considerations

👍 Pros:

• Monthly income stream without selling investments

• Income smoothing for consistent payouts

• Actively managed by experts at JPMAM

• No Nutmeg fees until 2026

⚠️ Considerations:

• Requires £10,000 minimum to start

• Still carries investment risk – capital isn’t guaranteed

• Fund fees apply for underlying ETFs

• If you’re focused purely on capital growth, growth portfolios with reinvestment may outperform long-term

My Experience

As you will know if you read my July 2025 Investments Update, in June I transferred most of the money in my Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio (just under £25,000) to a new Nutmeg Income Portfolio. As my money was already invested via a Stocks and Shares ISA, my new income portfolio will enjoy that status as well, meaning income payments will be made without any deductions for tax. Likewise, any capital appreciation will not be taxable.

I selected a risk level of 5 (the maximum). That aligns with the risk level of my other Nutmeg investments, which should make it easier to compare them. More importantly, though, I have other investments that are lower risk, including my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension) and – of course – my state pension. With my Nutmeg investments I hope to maximize their income and growth potential and am comfortable taking a few more risks to this end. As I have other, less risky investments, any reversals with Nutmeg shouldn’t be disastrous. Obviously as I get older – or if my circumstances change – I may revisit this.

For similar reasons, I chose not to select the ‘smoothing’ option. The income from my Nutmeg income portfolio will be in addition to other regular income streams I already have, so I can’t see any particular reason to have these payments smoothed out. Obviously I will monitor this and might change my mind in future, but for now I quite like the idea of having a variable extra payment each month. If it’s large, I may allow myself a few extra treats that month. If it’s small, I will adjust my expenditure accordingly.

• Of course, the above is solely my personal perspective and should not be construed as financial advice. Everyone’s circumstances are different. You should always do your own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if uncertain how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.

As the screenshot below shows, my Income portfolio is already showing a profit of over £400, which is obviously welcome. It hasn’t yet generated any income, but that is unsurprising. It can take a while for investments to qualify for dividend payments, so I am keeping my expectations modest, initially at least 🙂

I will update PAS readers on how my Nutmeg income portfolio performs in my future monthly investments updates.

Closing Thoughts

In my view, Nutmeg’s new Income Investing portfolios are a valuable addition for UK investors seeking a regular income, backed by diversified, actively managed ETFs. They offer monthly, optionally smoothed payouts, managed via Nutmeg’s simple, user-friendly interface. The fact that there is no initial Nutmeg management fee through 2025 is a further attraction.

If your priorities include current cash flow, retirement‑style income, or smoothing irregular income, this could be a good fit. If you’re younger or focused on maximizing long-term growth via compounding, however, Nutmeg’s established growth portfolios (e.g. Smart Alpha) remain compelling options.

If you have any comments or questions about this post – or Nutmeg more generally – please do leave them below. As always, bear in mind that I am not a qualified financial adviser and cannot offer personalized financial advice. As with all investments, your capital is at risk and there are no guarantees of profit. If in any doubt, consider speaking with a financial services professional.

My Investments Update – July 2025

Nick Investing events, reviews 0 Comments

Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my June 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).

A major change in June was that I transferred most of the money in my Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio (£25,000) to the new Nutmeg Income Portfolio. I will talk more about this is in a separate post, but basically money in this portfolio is invested to generate an income from dividends and other sources. This is then paid monthly. Capital appreciation is targeted as well, but basically these portfolios are aimed at older people (and others) who want/need their investment to generate a regular cash income.

As the screenshot below shows, my Income portfolio has only just been set up, though it’s already showing a small profit. It hasn’t yet generated any income for me, but that is unsurprising. Income is due to be paid in cash to my bank account on the 24th of each month, so hopefully I may have some income accrued by then (check out next month’s Update to find out). Of course, it can take a while for an investor to qualify for dividend payments, so I am keeping my expectations modest, initially at least!

You do have the option to select a ‘smoothing’ option, where Nutmeg works out your likely monthly income from the size (and performance) of your investment and pays the same amount every month from then onward. For various reasons I have opted not to do this for now, however.

Finally, you can select a risk level from 1 to 5 for your Income Portfolio. After some thought I selected the maximum 5. Depending on how things go, I may reduce this in future.

I still have a smaller growth-oriented pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £4,164 (rounded up) compared with ££4,059 a month ago, a rise of £105. 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. As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £827 compared with £804 last month, a rise of £23.

Finally, I still have a small amount left in my original Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio. I have kept this largely for comparison purposes. Here’s a screen capture of how it stands now.

As you can see, June was another decent month for my Nutmeg investments. Overall I was up by £478 or 1.58%.

I am up by £236 since the start of 2025, so the April 2025 fall (caused largely by Trump’s tariffs) has now completely reversed. I am also up by £1,750 or 6.05% since the start of July last year. Considering the recent volatility of the markets (and world affairs generally) 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). You are then crystallizing your losses rather than giving the markets time to recover. This is something I had cause to discuss recently in this blog post.

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 eight 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 recent 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 £256.94 in revenue from rental income. I have also made a net profit of £0.57 on property disposals. Capital growth has slowed, though, in line with UK property values generally.

At the time of writing, 16 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 2 are breaking even, and the remaining 18 are showing losses. My portfolio of 36 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £53.93. That means that overall (rental income and profit on disposal minus capital value decrease) I am up by £203.58. That’s still a decent 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. I did, however, withdraw £50 from my earnings in June to assist my cashflow in what was an expensive month for me 😮

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 £1,020.09, an overall increase of £131.73 or 14.83%.

• 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 back in profit now. But my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 has been doing a lot better, with an overall 47.31% profit. To be fair, I have held this investment a little longer.

My Tesla shares, which I bought as an afterthought with some spare cash I had in my account, are down a bit this month. But they are still showing an overall profit of 186.32% 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 £52.06, an increase of £2.06 or 4.12% (by my calculation) over the three-month period. It has even accrued a grand total of 18p 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) and also because you need to have held shares for a certain period to qualify for dividend payments. 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 a dividend-focused portfolio with Nutmeg as well (see above).

Moving on, I published various posts on Pounds and Sense in June. I have listed below those that are still relevant.

Guest Post: Your Guide to Great Freebies in the UK is a sponsored post by my friend Carla on behalf of a popular freebies site. Please do check it out!

The Many Benefits of Learning a Musical Instrument in Later Life isn’t about personal finance. But as someone who has actually done this (ukulele) it’s a subject I feel quite passionate about. In this article I set out the many (sometimes surprising) benefits of learning to play an instrument as a senior, and offered a few tips based on my personal experience.

In What Are Bonds and How Can You Invest in Them, I explain what bonds are and their pros and cons compared with other investment vehicles. As I say in the article, bonds can play a key role in a well-rounded portfolio, especially for those – including many older people – who are seeking predictable, regular income and/or lower risk.

In How to Reduce Your Water Bills I discussed various ways you may be able to cut your water bill, including getting a water meter and (if you’re on a low income) applying for a reduced-rate social tariff. With water bills rising substantially in many parts of the country, it’s well worth checking what options you may have to cut them.

Is It Worth Getting Over 50 Life Insurance? is another sponsored post. It focuses on a type of life insurance specifically designed for people aged over 50. Such policies offer a guaranteed, fixed cash payout when the policyholder dies. Over 50 life insurance policies are generally “whole of life”, meaning they last until you pass away, as long as you keep up with premium payments. They’re often used to help cover funeral expenses, outstanding debts, or to leave a small inheritance.

Finally, How Social Tariffs Can Help You Reduce Your Household Bills looks at discounted tariffs that may be available for people on low incomes and/or certain means-tested benefits. Specifically, it covers broadband, water bills and energy bills. Do check this out if you are struggling with these bills at the moment.

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 will 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!

My Investments Update – June 2025

Nick Investing events, reviews 0 Comments

Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my May 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 the screenshot below for the year to date shows, my main Nutmeg portfolio is currently valued at £25,323. Last month it stood at £24,532, so that is a rise of £791.

Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £4,059 (rounded up) compared with £3,934 a month ago, a rise of £125. Here is a screen capture showing performance for the year to date.

Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg’s new thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March 2024 I also invested a further £200 from referral bonuses. As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £804 compared with £770 last month, a rise of £34.

As you can see, May was a good month for my Nutmeg investments. Overall I was up by £950 or 3.25%.

I am still down slightly since the start of 2025, with the value of my investments decreasing by £242 or 0.08% since 1st January. On the other hand, their value has grown by £1,813 or 6.39% since the end of May last year. So, as I always say, the recent ups and downs do need to be taken in context. Some volatility is always to be expected with stock market investments, and over time they tend to even out. In general the worst thing you can do is panic and sell up when downturns occur (as happened in early April). You are then crystallizing your losses rather than giving the markets time to recover. This is something I had cause to discuss recently in this blog post.

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 eight 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 recent post, the company recently 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 £251.16 in revenue from rental income. I have also made a net profit of £0.57 on property disposals. Capital growth has slowed, though, 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 18 are showing losses. My portfolio of 37 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £47.34. That means that overall (rental income and profit on disposal minus capital value decrease) I am up by £204.39. That’s still a decent 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 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 £996.80, an overall increase of £108.44 or 12.21%.

• 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 has recovered a bit since last time and is at least back in profit now, although it’s not exactly setting the world on fire (excuse the bad joke).

Thankfully my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 has been doing better, with an overall 39.64% profit. To be fair, I have held this investment a little longer.

My Tesla shares, which I bought as an afterthought with a bit of spare cash I had in my account, have done particularly well since I bought them, with an overall profit of 211.13%. If only I had put a bit more money into this! As a matter of interest, I do find it quite strange that my Tesla shares keep going up in value, despite all the stories in the press and social media about consumers boycotting Tesla. Go figure.

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 a bit of 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 £51.69, an increase of 3.3% over the two-month period. It has even accrued a grand total of 9p 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) and also because you need to have held shares for a certain period to qualify for dividend payments. If I increased my investment I would almost certainly become eligible for more dividends, and would qualify for more the longer I remain invested. If I had any spare money at the moment, I would certainly consider doing this!

Moving on, I published various posts on Pounds and Sense in May. I have listed below those that are still relevant

Why a Financial Remedy Order is Essential on Your Divorce is another guest post from my friends at HCR Law. If you are unfortunate enough to be in this position, this article contains important advice and information on how to ensure your personal financial security going forward.

Where to Get Pension Advice contains important information for anyone who may be coming up to retirement age, which of course includes many Pounds and Sense readers. This collaborative article includes details of six potential sources of pension advice, including the pros and cons of each.

Could You Benefit From Help to Save spotlights a lesser-known government scheme which, if you’re eligible, can give your finances a valuable boost. It’s an initiative aimed at helping people on low incomes (typically those receiving Universal Credit) build up their savings. Offering generous tax-free bonuses, this scheme can provide significant benefits for qualifying individuals.

How to Save Money on Rail Fares With Split Ticketing discusses a money-saving hack that savvy travellers can use to reduce their rail-fare costs – often by a substantial margin. Split ticketing involves breaking a journey into two or more smaller segments, purchasing separate tickets for each segment rather than one through-ticket. With the help of apps such as those discussed in the article, the process becomes simple and automated.

Finally, in What Are ETFs And How Can You Invest in Them? I shine a spotlight on these increasingly popular investment vehicles, explaining what they are, how you can invest in them, and how you can maximize the benefit by investing via tax-free ISAs.

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 will 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!