Weekly Portfolio Update – Ending 11 April 2025
Total Portfolio Value: $534,406.31
Total Weekly Return: +0.06% (yes, green!)
Market Mood: Mixed bag of meh and magic
Some Weeks You Win… by Just Not Losing
After a rollercoaster fortnight in the markets—thanks to Trump tariffs, China tensions, and iron ore doing its best impersonation of a bungee jumper—this past week actually felt like a tiny exhale.
The headline? My portfolio ended up ever so slightly in the green, clocking a modest 0.06% gain for the 7 days ending 11 April 2025. Sure, it’s not enough to pop champagne, but after last week’s dip, I’ll happily take a glass of Aldi sparkling mineral water in celebration.
📊 What Worked: Green Shoots and Dividend Darlings
Let’s start with the cheer squad—the holdings that brought smiles and a few relieved head nods:
• Eagers Automotive (APE): +11.66% – Zoom zoom! A huge winner this week. No idea why, but I’m not complaining.
• Nick Scali (NCK): +10.06% – People must be buying couches again?
• Soul Pattinson (SOL): +4.94% – My ever-reliable wealth compounding machine.
• Macquarie (MQG): +2.85% – Solid bounce back.
• Telstra (TLS): +2.77% – Looks like someone finally found the Wi-Fi.
• Whitefield (WHF): +1.15% and KKC.ASX: +1.36% – Respectable gains for my income-focused and credit investments.
Also worth noting: Brickworks (BKW) posted a total return of +2.79%, helped along by a tidy 1.47% dividend. I’ll take more of that, please.
🔻 What Didn’t: The Walk of Shame
A few holdings clearly didn’t get the memo that we were trying to rebound this week.
• Sonic Healthcare (SHL): -6.77% – Oof. Maybe too many flu shots and not enough profits.
• Medibank (MPL): -4.54% – Still dealing with negative sentiment, and possibly hackers.
• Viva Energy (VEA): -5.70% – Probably tied to falling oil prices thanks to the tariff noise.
• Woodside Energy (WDS): -3.92%, Westpac (WBC): -3.07%, AGL (AGL): -2.56% – A trio of underachievers.
Also dragging things down a bit were staples like VAS (-0.21%), A200 (-0.22%), and VGS (-0.26%). Not major falls, but they’re usually the sturdy ones. This week, they were more like damp cardboard.
🏡 Alternatives and P2P: As Steady as Ever
• Metrics Income (MOT): -1.57%, Gryphon Capital (GCI): +0.25%, and MRE (Metrics Real Estate): 0.00% – basically flatlining in either direction. No drama. No glory.
• My P2P investments like Azimut, Mona Vale, and QSW? All held at 0.00% change. Honestly, these are the zen monks of my portfolio. Nothing phases them. They just sit there. Calm.
💰 Dividends? Yes, Please
I only received one payout this week—Brickworks clocked in with a 1.47% dividend, reminding me why I love this business. It’s the investing equivalent of a warm sausage roll on a cold Bunnings morning—reliable and satisfying.
📉 Looking at the Bigger Picture
It’s been a volatile few weeks, but this one shows that markets can breathe in between tantrums. Investors were still dealing with:
• Global jitters from the US-China tariff standoff
• Iron ore price pressure
• Talk of profit downgrades across Wall Street
• Some surprisingly strong local corporate results (hello, automotive and retail)
Despite that, my diversified approach—spreading across passive ETFs, income funds, direct shares, and alternatives—helped smooth out the bumps.
🤔 What I’m Thinking Going Forward
• No major changes. This week reinforced that patience still wins.
• APE and NCK might be worth topping up if momentum continues.
• VAS, VGS, A200 still form the solid dividend foundation—I’m not fussed by the small dip.
• I’m watching SHL and MPL closely. If they dip too far but the fundamentals stay intact, I might nibble.
📌 Final Thoughts
If you had told me a week ago that my portfolio would be back in the green by mid-April—after all the noise—I’d have laughed, probably nervously. But here we are.
Sometimes the market gives you wild swings. Sometimes it gives you… a quiet 0.06%. This week, that felt like a win.