Portfolio summary
- Current portfolio value is $200,450 after 56 months.
- The change in portfolio value for the month was -3.47% (February $208,340).
- The investment return for the month was -6.7% and is currently -7.12% for the year.
(The change in portfolio value and investment return are different, because one takes into account new cash added to the portfolio and one doesn’t).
This portfolio is made up of:
💥 BOOM weekly savings: $6,302
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🚮 Decluttering: $11,686 (get started here!)
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💸 Matched betting: $47,847 (get started here!)
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📦 Flipping: $2,676 (get started here!)
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📝 Surveys: $150 (get started here!)
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🖥️ Simple Courses sales: $11,653 (view all my courses here!)
🏋️♀️ 1-on-1 coaching: $390
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🎉 Sharesies bonuses: $150⠀⠀
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🧧Leftovers from Chinese New Year Instagram giveaway because people didn’t want free money: $90⠀⠀
🎁Leftovers from 500 follower Instagram giveaway because people didn’t want free money: $300
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💰 Personal dividends: $3,541
🖱️ Niche Site A (Home Remedies): $11,572 (get started here!)
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🖱️ Niche Site B (Fitness): $4,432 (SITE SOLD!)
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🖱️ Niche Site C (Superfoods): $7,250
🖱️ moneybren.com (affiliate commissions): $32,438
💵 Interest: $567
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💹 Sharemarket gainz: $29,318 (get started here!)
💹 Crypto gainz: $28,846 (get started here!)
March portfolio update:
First quarter of 2025 was pretty choppy.
Trump took over the presidency and has wasted no time shaking things up.
With his confirmation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve he gave clarity to the crypto sector in the US. One would have thought this would have caused the Bitcoin price to rocket, but it seemed to have the opposite effect with price languishing in the 80k range since.
His next big shakeup is the tariff situation, which he’s been talking about for months but finally got rolling this week. He’s put tariffs between 10%-100% on every country in the world, which has spooked markets and has the whole financial world talking.
Remember at @moneybren the focus is finding long term investments in quality companies, where short term hiccups like Trump tariffs aren’t a reason to sell and shouldn’t affect your companies long term. On the other hand it does present buying opportunities. One of these has been Deckers (NYSE:DECK) which I wrote about last week and have opened a small position in the portfolio which I will look to build over the next year.
As the focus on the portfolio now is more about assets than side hustles, let me use this quarter’s update to give you a rundown of the top positions in the portfolio and why we’re holding them. The top 5 positions make up over 70% of the portfolio and consist of:
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is still the best position I know of to counter rising inflation and global uncertainty. With companies like Strategy (Microstrategy), Tesla, Block, and more recently Gamestop (among many others) now holding Bitcoin on their balance sheet, it’s becoming legitimized more every month. With the Trump administration confirming they will be acquiring Bitcoin as government treasury asset, the whole “is Bitcoin going to be banned” debate should be more or less settled. I still believe Bitcoin is in a bull market and will peak in Q3 or Q4 this year.
If you’re interested in getting started investing in Bitcoin, I highly recommend my course Simple Crypto! Hundreds of Kiwis are already using my courses to learn to invest smartly and safely with amazing results. Simple Crypto will guide you through all the basics of crypto investing, ensuring you don’t get scammed or do anything stupid, and learn how to build a profitable and thriving portfolio. Simple Crypto is one of the courses in Wealth Builder – get it here!
Bitcoin is currently the largest position in the public portfolio at 29% allocation. I have also moved a large portion of cash holdings in Sharesies into a Bitcoin ETF which makes up 7.6% of the portfolio and has accumulated a 23% return so far:
Summerset
Summerset is in a dip right now and I’ve been aggressively acquiring both in the @moneybren portfolio and my personal portfolio. Summerset is a miles ahead of competitors in both balance sheet strength and profitability, and the NZ aged care business is primed for accelerated growth over the next two decades. I expect the stock price to double within the next 7-10 years, while also maintaining its 1-2% annual dividend. Summerset is now the biggest homebuilder in New Zealand (in a country obsessed with property) and owns some of the most valuable residential land in the country. It has unique access to billions in interest-free capital and has a very tax-advantageous business. A summary of the business can be found here. To me this is one of the best buys on the NZX currently. Summerset is currently the second largest position in the @moneybren portfolio with an allocation of 17%.
Millennium Copthorne
MCK owns some of the most valuable hotel assets in New Zealand, plus Sofitel Brisbane, and a majority stake in the profitable homebuilder CDL NZ. I’ve been holding MCK for almost four years now believing it to be highly undervalued, as it trades for about half the market value of its properties. While I’ve collected dividends along the way, the market has not agreed with me about the valuation, with the price dragging around $2 for most of that time.
Earlier this year the parent company of MCK made a takeover offer for $2.25/share – near my cost price – somewhat vindicating my thesis the company was undervalued. My thesis was fully vindicated when the directors rejected this offer and and independent valuer assessed the fair value of the shares between $4.50 to $5 (still lower than my estimate, but close).
As for now it’s a matter of waiting in limbo to see if the parent company will increase their takeover bid or bail on it altogether. MCK is the third biggest portfolio position with an allocation of 8%.
Markel
Markel is an insurance company based out of Virginia USA, which many think of as a “mini Berkshire Hathaway”. Markel is headed by Tom Gaynor, an expert capital allocator with a fantastic track record. Markel follows the Berkshire model of investing its insurance float in stocks and businesses, paying no dividend, and compounding over time. Over 30 years (since 1995), Gaynor has grown Markel’s stock price from $44 to $1,850, and over the next 30 years I’m confident he’ll achieve an even greater return than that. Markel is the fourth biggest position in the portfolio, with an allocation of 5.3%.
Briscoes
Briscoes annual results came out this quarter with close to record sales and a pleasing result overall. I think Briscoes is one of the best run businesses in New Zealand with Rod Duke running a tight ship and consistently hitting new sales records. Free cash flow is down around $50 million, which looks bad on paper, but is due to the new $100m distribution centre they are building in South Auckland. Overall cash position is strong and I expect investors at this price should be collecting 12%-15% in annual dividends in a few years. Briscoes is the fifth biggest position in the portfolio, with an allocation of 4.7%.
If you want to get started building a stock portfolio, I recommend my course Simple Stocks! It will teach you everything you need to know to get started building a stock portfolio in just a few minutes a day! Simple Stocks is available as part of my Wealth Builder program – get it here!
The plan for next quarter and the rest of 2025 is the same. Look for quality investments and keep accumulating assets!
You can view all previous portfolio updates here.
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