The Super Squeeze – March 2026 End of Month Update

**Woman Giving Money to a Servant-Girl** (c. 1668–1672) (Cropped) – Pieter de Hooch.

In times of market turmoil, Slack Investor likes to take his mind off the day-to-day fluctuations of his share investments and concentrate on things that he knows that work. He knows that the stock market is volatile. He knows that the stock market provides excellent returns to the long-term investor. He knows that his Stable Income pile will fund his needs.

For a mood lift, he just taps into his inner Julie Andrews and simply remembers My Favourite Things. These favourite things include long-term investing and Superannuation.

Compulsory Pay Day Super

Compulsory Super was brought into Australia way back in 1992 by the force of nature Paul Keating. Every time that there is a proposed change to the structure of Superannuation, Slack Investor steels himself for the worst.

However, to almost universal acclaim, there was some good news in Superannuation circles with the introduction of pay day Super. From 1 July 2026, employer paid Super must be transferred on the same schedule as an employee’s pay cycle rather than quarterly. Previously, the rules allowed for the Super Guarantee contribution to be paid in lump sums every 3 months. The new rules are expected to benefit lower-income workers under casual, and part-time arrangements. Their Super will be deposited into their accounts and earning money straight away.

‘By switching to payday super, a 25-year-old median income earner currently receiving their super quarterly and wages fortnightly could be around $6,000 or 1.5% better off at retirement.’ _{– Stephen Jones , Assistant Treasurer}

Bewdy … we can relax now and let the compulsory 12% Super guarantee fund our comfortable retirement … Not so fast!

The ‘Voice of Super’ outlines the ‘Squeeze’

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) update their Retirement standard every quarter. They follow the effects of household costs on a retirement budget for both a comfortable and a modest retirement. ASFA define a ‘comfortable’ retirement where the budget allows for Occasional restaurant meals, take-away coffee and a yearly domestic holiday and an overseas trip every 7 years . Slack Investor has more lofty goals than this. Let’s focus on at least a comfortable retirement!

Even before President Trump’s misadventures in the Persian Gulf, prices have been moving north. The CPI rose 3.8% in the 12 months to December 2025 – but other household costs are rising faster. ASFA found plenty of price increases for the same period.

Electricity up 21.5 per cent, driven by the expiry of energy bill relief subsidies
Coffee and tea up 15.3 per cent due to rising commodity prices
Beef up 10.8 per cent
Domestic travel up 9.6 per cent
Water up 7.1 per cent
Property rates up 6.2 per cent
Medical and hospital services up 4.3 per cent
Fruit up 4.2 per cent
Private rental costs were up 3.9 per cent, just above the general inflation rate.

These price pressures have moved the required income for a comfortable retirement to even higher levels.

‘… homeowners aged 65 and over now need $77,375 annually for a comfortable retirement as a couple, and $54,840 for a single.’ _{– ASFA Report February 2026}

ASFA calculate that these retirement incomes at age 67 would require a super amount of $630,000 for singles and $730,000 for couples – assuming home ownership.

Are we on track?

Age	ASFA Required Comfortable Super Amount	Actual Male	Actual Female
30	$66 500	$55 690	$46 586
40	$168 000	$140 680	$109 209
50	$296 000	$254 071	$190 075
55	$377 000	$319 743	$242 945
60	$469 000	$395 852	$313 360
65	$571 000	$448 518	$392 274
67	$630 000	?	?

Assuming a future pre-tax income of $65,000 a year that keeps track with inflation. ASFA have calculated the Super milestones for a single person to reach $630,000 in super at retirement – ASFA February 2026 Report. Actual Male and Female Super balances from Rest Super (March 2026)

Male Super amounts are approaching the required ‘comfortable’ Super levels – but are still lagging. There is a definite gender gap in Super balances. Women suffer from structural inequalities in the workplace that include lower paid professions and career breaks for family.

As well as these existing Super shortfalls for a ‘comfortable’ retirement, these ASFA budgets assume that the retirees own their own home.

Despite the difficulty, Slack Investor encourages all to have the goal of their own home by retirement age. This may be a modest apartment, tiny home, a granny flat, or a place in the country. But it must be yours! Also, keep an eye on your Super and how it relates to the ASFA targets at each age level. Slack Investor always made sure his Super was in the Highest Growth option when he was under 55 and topped up his balance regularly with ‘Salary Sacrifice’ contributions.

March 2026 – End of Month Update

It was in March 2025 Update when Slack Investor wrote about the first ‘Trump Slump’ due to the random application of his trade tariffs to the world.

Well, thank you again Donald for your contribution. All followed markets fell this month. The ASX 200 down 4.0%, the FTSE 100 down 9.7%, and the S&P 500 down 4.3%. For now, each Index remains above their stop losses – but both the UK Index and Australian Index are perilously close to their stops. For now, Slack Investor remains IN for the FTSE 100, the ASX 200, and the US Index S&P 500.

The talented David Rowe has summed things up again – David Rowe, AFR

All Index pages and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes – (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index).

The quarterly updates to the Slack Portfolio have also been completed. There are some significant changes since the December 2025 update. Slack Investor has tinkered – and tried to remove the more speculative stocks in the Portfolio. He has stayed with established growing companies that will hopefully weather the storm. He has ended up with a good amount of cash (17.5% of Slack Portfolio). This will hopefully be deployed when he sees a return to more stable conditions.

Slack Portfolio Surgery – February 2026 End of Month Update

Robert Liston operating. Painting by Ernest Board of Bristol (1877-1934) – Wikimedia Commons

The leg amputation depicted above was supposedly done in under 30 seconds. Dr Liston not only managed to kill the patient (Sepsis), but one of his assistants (Sepsis) – and also one of the audience (shock). A 300% mortality rate! Slack Investor hopes for a better outcome after some recent portfolio surgery.

SaaS-pocalypse

The ‘SaaS-pocalypse’, a trending term to describe the recent and dramatic sell-off in global Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) shares, is based on the idea that AI becomes so advanced that software becomes redundant. _{– The Guardian}

Slack Investor went into a bit of detail last post on the sell off in tech and healthcare stocks due to the release of AI tools such as Claude. This wasn’t just some tale in a distant land, the ‘SaaS-pocalypse’ was having a very direct affect on the Slack Portfolio.

ASX200 biggest falls since August 2025 (Data as of 4/2/2026) – Livewire

Is this really a disaster for the Slack Portfolio? Slack Investor prides himself on getting things ‘mostly right’. However, this 2026 Financial Year has been testing – it seems that he has been getting things ‘mostly wrong’! However, Slack Investor knows that only long-term results count.

It is certainly a setback, as Slack Investor has attached himself to 5 of these ‘Biggest Fall’ ASX companies set out above. Some remedial action is required.

Slack Investor has been in this game long enough to not panic. He has however given the Slack Portfolio a ‘very hard look’ and has been gradually building up his cash position by selling companies that have not a convincing story to tell in these frothy times – particularly those with an extended PE Ratio. Future incomes may not be enough to justify their expense (high PE Ratio). He is mindful that the recent sell-off might be overdone in some cases.

But the companies being indiscriminately sold are often those whose actual protection was never in the codebase to begin with. The durable moats live outside the software entirely, in proprietary data rights, regulatory licences, institutional relationships, deep workflow embedding, and sustained frontier research. None of these can be prompt-engineered into existence. – Mark Gardner, MPC Markets –Livewire

Since his last published quarterly portfolio, Slack Investor has reduced his exposure to the US market (Sold NVDA, NDQ, JNDQ) and sold off some of his more speculative holdings (TLX, MP1 and CXL). His cash position is healthy and waiting for some future opportunities. His Stable Income pile plus Slack Portfolio dividends are enough for living expenses and holidays. Slack Investor should never be forced into a sale of his stocks.

Rules of thumb when bad things happen

Slack Investor has general rules of thumb for when stock prices have a fall of 20%. These questions must be asked.

Has something fundamentally changed with the company? Such as sustained falling earnings, new competitors, etc.
After running the numbers for predicted PE Ratio, predicted ROE and predicted growth. Would Slack Investor buy this company at the current price?

As well, for SaaS stocks, Slack Investor has another question.

Does the company produce proprietary software and embedded relationships with its clients that would provide a durable moat?

These three questions were enough for me to hang on to my battered software-based stocks TNE, CAR, REA, and WTC – and hope for a recovery.

February 2026 – End of Month Update

Slack Investor remains IN for Australian index shares, the US Index S&P 500 and the FTSE 100.

Despite the turbulence in the Slack Portfolio, it was a good month for the ASX 200 (+3.7%). The FTSE 100 is in record territory with 6.7% February growth. A well deserved rest for the US markets (S&P 500: -0.9%).

All Index pages and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes – (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index).

It was the best of times … it was the worst of times – January 2026 End of Month Update

Author of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, Charles Dickens in his study at Gadshill

Slack Investor is a bit of a do-it-yourself bloke and has had reasonable success with his investing over the long-term. However, there is a place for outsourcing this noble task and it has always been Slack Investor’s intention to gradually take a back seat as he loses his faculties and hands over the whole kaboose to Ms Slack Investor. I always thought I would follow the great Mr Buffet’s thoughts on how to produce superior returns to most fund managers.

‘My advice to the trustee could not be more simple: Put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund.’ _{– Warren Buffet, 2013 Berkshire Newsletter}

Warren Buffet’s reasoning is based upon the relatively high fees that stock-picker (active) funds charge. It is his contention that these fees will erode any achieved outperformance for most of them. Is there still room for stock-pickers? With apologies to Charles Dickens, Slack Investor will examine this with a Tale of Two Funds from his own investing history.

The Tale of Two Funds

The Montgomery Fund

Slack Investor has always been impressed with Roger Montgomery. He often appears on the media and his own website with reasoned and intelligent comment. It was after one of these exposures that Slack Investor thought it would be a grand idea to allocate some of the Slack Funds to Montgomery’s signature vehicle. Slack Investor bought units in The Montgomery Fund. between 2012 and 2017. While there was some initial success, the continual long-term underperformance when compared to the ASX 300 Benchmark was enough for Slack investor to have misgivings – and pull the sell cord in 2020 for an eventual loss. It was a case of the ‘sizzle’ being more impressive than the steak.

The management fees for the Montgomery Fund start at 1.36%p.a. and there is also an outperformance fee of 15.3%. The table below shows that in all time frames, but most significantly, when using the long-term figures (> 5-yr), the Montgomery Fund has underperformed. The fund has been weighed down by its relatively high fees and poor performance. The fund is aware of its chronic underperformance and they attribute most of the blame to an old fund manager prior to 2022. However, the inability to keep pace with the benchmark even in the last 3 years, suggests to Slack Investor that the malaise still lingers.

Table of the Montgomery Fund performance vs S&P/ASX 300 benchmark till 31/12/2025 since since inception 17/08/2012 – The Montgomery Fund

PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund

Slack Investor’s ears pricked up during a Livewire Interview with Paul Moore, the founder of PM Capital. Mr Moore’s humility, common sense and experience came through when discussing his fund offerings. PM Capital run a number of different funds but the one that intrigued Slack Investor the most was the Global Opportunities Fund where:

The aim is to create long term wealth through a concentrated portfolio of 25-45 global companies that we believe are trading at prices different to their intrinsic values.

The PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund is available as a Managed Fund and also a Listed Investment Company (LIC). Slack Investor chose the LIC (PGF.ASX) as it is readily traded through his broker. PGF has fees of 1.0% p..a. and there are also an outperformance fee of 15%. However, looking at the intrinsic value of global companies is a skill that Slack Investor hasn’t got. For example, the largest position in PGF is European banks. PM Capital compare the Dutch origin ING (Book Value x 0.8, Forward PE 5) with Australia’s CBA (Book Value x 2.0, Forward PE 19). Slack Investor is happy to pay a fee to portfolio managers that are willing to seek out good value global companies. The long-term outperformance in the table below confirm that they are excellent at it!

Performance Table for the PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund, the Monthly update figures valid at 31/12/2025 were used together with the MSCI World Index returns in Australian Dollars (AUD). The PGF ETF was launched in December 2006 but the Fund’s inception date was October 1998.

This is not advice, and Slack Investor acknowledges that past performance does not guarantee future performance. However, the table above suggests that Mr Moore and his team know what they are doing. Consistently outperforming the MSCI World Index (in $AUD) is a considerable accomplishment. Slack Investor has bought some PGF with thoughts of adding further to his position in the future.

January 2026 – End of Month Update

End of month updates - Blue rising chart

Slack Investor remains IN for Australian index shares, the US Index S&P 500 and the FTSE 100.

In another crazy month of world turmoil (Thanks Mr President!) all followed markets rose strongly. The S&P 500 (+1.4%), the FTSE 100 (+2.9%) and the ASX 200 rose +1.8%. Slack Investor remains uneasy about how this great experiment will work out.

All Index pages and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes – (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index).

Be Old and Get Gifts – December 2025 End of Month Update

Portrait of an Old Man – Rembrandt Van Rijn – Harvard Art Museum

Slack Investor would have to say that getting old has several disadvantages. However, the Australian government is compensating for this – perhaps a little too much. Under the current ‘Intergenerational contract’ and our ‘tax transfer’ system – it pays to be old!

25 years ago, the 75+ age group’s post-tax income was only 75% of the average, but now it matches the average, indicating a significant shift. _{–(Source: ANU)}

The Black line on the chart below, represents the net value (aggregate) of government taxes and services at each age. It is a good demonstration of how the Australian tax and transfer system works. A recent ANU Report shows that these transfers are part of the intergenerational contract where the working community ‘looks after’ the young and the old:

The Australian tax and transfer system – (Source: ANU). The intergenerational contract is graphically displayed – the black line is the net value of government taxes and services at each age.

When people are young, they pay relatively little tax and they receive services such as education.
During working age, people typically pay more in taxes than they receive in services.
After retirement, older Australians usually receive more in government benefits and services (age pension, aged care and health care) than they pay in taxes.

These principles are sound in a caring economy. However, there is something profoundly wrong with the whole Australian tax system where:

Australians over the age of 60 have enjoyed a post-tax income similar to that of mid-career working age Australians and much higher than Australians aged 18-30 _{–(Source: ANU)}

The report describes how, in earlier periods, older Australians earned relatively little income while the tax and transfer system provided income and support. In recent years, Australian retirees generally have generated income from significant Real Estate and Superannuation accumulated wealth – and the Australian tax and transfer system has not adjusted.

We’re a country that overtaxes hard work that actually contributes to the economy and rewards those hoarding unproductive assets while contributing little back. _{– Tom Stelzer, Livewire}

The Australian Budget is in a structural deficit – the cash balance will be negative in every year going forward! In the next few years, it will be necessary to increase taxes or reduce Government spending.

The ANU Report suggests that budget repair should include both a mix of tax increases and spending reductions on older Australians. The proportion of over 65s paying tax has halved in the last 20 years. Slack Investor is not one to eagerly put his hand up for extra taxes – but he can see the community benefit. He will take it on the chin when it happens.

December 2025 – End of Month and Year Update

Although December in the US was a flat month (S&P 500 +0.0%), there was a bit of a ‘Santa Rally’ this month for Australia and the UK. The ASX 200 was up 3.3% and the FTSE 100 up 2.2%. Slack Investor remains IN for the FTSE 100, the ASX 200, and the US Index S&P 500.

I haven’t yet done the full maths on the market yearly gains that include dividends. In raw terms (without dividends), for calendar year 2025 the ASX 200 was up 7%, the FTSE 100 up a magnificent 21%, and the S&P 500 up 16%.

Amongst all this positive news, the Slack Portfolio has had a negative calendar year and is down 3.1%. Slack Investor has good long-term performance and accepts the volatility of the stock market. He is not surprised by the odd bad year, but amongst all this background rising tide – it is just poor form!

The Ashley Owen graphic below shows one of the reasons for the Slack portfolio negative performance is that he has attached himself to some of the biggest losers of calendar year 2025 (CSL -35%, Goodman Group -17% and Wisetech -41%). My New Year’s resolution is to pay a bit more attention to the Slack Portfolio and try to turn things around.

The ASX top shares movement till 12 Dec 2025 – From Ashley Owen IFPA lecture series – OwenAnalytics

All Index pages and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes – (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index). The quarterly updates to the Slack Portfolio have also been completed.

A technical note on the Slack Portfolio. Slack Investor has moved his Wesfarmers (WES) and Coles Group (COL) shares out of the growth-oriented Slack Portfolio because of their relatively weak projected growth (5%-10%). He remains a shareholder of these solid companies, but he has moved them into his Stable Income Fund – where they more comfortably sit.

On the Hunt – November 2025 End of Month Update

Hunting Scene with Foxhounds
John Frederick Herring – Art UK

Slack Investor has a little bit of spare cash and his Macquarie bank savings accounts are offering a risk free (but taxed!) interest rate of 4.25%. Not a bad place to park your money temporarily. However, even in this risky environment, he would rather have his money working in a profitable company. He is continually hunting for opportunities.

Last September, he read about a profitable business in a Livewire discussion with Martin Hickson and Steve Johnson. They mentioned SKS Technologies a company that is gaining contracts in building data centres and other types of electrical and audio visual fit out work. Slack Investor put SKS on his watch list and did a bit of research. This is not advice, just a little journey into Slack Investor’s small mind and a case study on how he finds companies to invest in. This type of information gathering is something all investors should try to do before they press the ‘BUY’ button. Extra research offers no guarantee of success, but Slack Investor only aims for ‘mostly right’.

SKS Technologies Group (SKS)

My first port of call is always the Market Screener Finance page to see if this idea is worth exploring further. Their income, projected income growth and lack of debt looked fine.

Next he looked at the projected numbers on the business health and relative price. Projected Price to Earnings ratio (PE) was refreshingly low for a growing company. Return on Equity (ROE) was high indicating a very profitable business. Because of some recent successful tenders, Earnings Per Share (EPS) Growth was also very high. These type of numbers gave an extremely large Slack Factor. Was this too good? Is the recent growth inflating the numbers too much?

Slack Investor was recently burned by a few recent purchases in the pharmaceutical sector that had high projected growth figures and a subsequently high Slack Factor score. The stock price came crashing down when there were a few regulatory problems and doubt on the future growth.

Over 70% of their order book now comes from data centres, and that’s up from zero four years ago … At the moment, the company has an order book of $200 million, a tender pipeline of $500 million _{– Martin Hickson, 1851 Capital}

SKS is an unusual type of business for Slack Investor to be interested in. They submit tenders for their services and their income depends on whether their tenders are accepted – there is always some uncertainty about the future income flow of these type of businesses. However, things are running hot at the moment with a just completed acquisition of a similar business and, they have just announced a new $130m project.

I don’t see SKS as a long-term ‘set and forget’ holding as the tender process is competitive and results (income) are not assured. But for now, data centres are the big thing and SKS certainly have the established expertise and a growing tender pipeline. They also have won contracts with Defence and other government work. I will hold my small parcel (0.5% of Slack Investment Portfolio) and, with the lessons learned from recent pharma investments, watch for the first earnings downgrade – then exit with some dignity (hopefully).

Waiting … Waiting

Daily Price Chart for SKS Technologies – incrediblecharts.com

Sometimes, the numbers (fundamentals) on the business can be really good and the chart tells a different story. Slack Investor kept looking at the charts, weekend after weekend in October. SKS was caught up with a general bad feeling on the AI and data centre companies – with a subsequent price slide. The market thought that these sectors were ‘overcooked’ – and prices were falling. This changed on Monday 24 November 2025 when there was a 10% price rise after a positive AGM presentation. Somebody was buying. Slack Investor got onboard with this momentum at $3.70.

November 2025 – End of Month Update

Slack Investor is IN for Australian index shares, the US Index S&P 500 and the FTSE 100.

The S&P 500 (+0.1%) and the FTSE 100 (+0.0%) had a volatile but eventually flat month. For the ASX 200, a bit of a slide downwards (-3.0%). The UK Index (FTSE 100) needed its stop loss moving upwards as prices were 15% above the previous value. The new UK stop loss was moved up to the new ‘higher low’ of 9276.

All Index pages and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes – (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index).

Ride that Horse! – October 2025 End of Month Update

Slack Investor reads a lot of finance news each week. Sadly, there now seems to be a portion of the finance news that seems to come from AI sources. However, there is still a lot of good stuff by real people – and he came across an excellent article by Carl Capolingua that had some great investor truths that apply to the current market.

A disciplined investor doesn’t fight the market – they respect it. They accept the market is responsible for their investing outcomes, win, lose or draw. They also accept that they have absolutely no control over the market or the outcomes it delivers. _{– Carl Capolingua, Livewire Markets}

The original article focuses on the difficulty of letting go of investments that have shown a loss. Slack Investor is still searching for this zen state and has written about his own troubles with selling stocks that have had a sudden fall. However, the quote above sums up ‘the bargain’ that Slack Investor has made with stocks and their volatility. I don’t know when the next correction (or worse!) is coming … but I know it’s coming.

World Markets are Expensive at the Moment

Although Slack Investor collects his own data on relative market value using CAPE numbers, the remarkable Ashley Owen has produced a great graphic showing the relative size of the world markets and how expensive they are at the moment in terms of PE and Yield. Clearly, the US market looks over ripe and any corrections here will historically influence all other markets.

World markets plotted by PE Ratio and Yield – From the very erudite Ashley Owen of Owen Analytics

Short-term Returns are Volatile

The chart below shows that the S&P 500 returns for a calendar year are all over the place, but if you just hung on, and didn’t sell the S&P 500 when times were tough, you would be rewarded with an average annual return of 12.2% over 30 years. Not Bad. Australian shares have returned an average yearly gain of 11.5% from 1900 to 2020.

Yearly Returns of the S&P 500 (green columns) and 15-yr rolling returns (blue line) – From T. RowePrice

What to do when the Correction comes

‘If you have trouble imagining a 20% loss in the stock market, you shouldn’t be in stocks.‘ _{– Vanguard founder – John C. Bogle}

Slack Investor has had no real luck in timing the markets – despite a disciplined 21-yr project trying to do this. There are those that can, Marcus Padley and his investment team have gone to 100% cash and reported this on 21 October 2025. Slack Investor hasn’t the knowledge, or gumption, to confidently predict market exits and entries – and yet, has done OK in the investing business without too much angst.

Slack Investor knows that for an ordinary person, the stock market is the place with best long-term returns with minimal transaction costs. The bargain – to accept volatility in return for long-term gains – is accepted.

He has his stable income pile to keep the dogs from the door.
He tinkers with his Investment Portfolio of predominantly growth shares, but mostly he leaves it alone.
He will not sell his shares after a correction and convert to cash.
He has elevated his cash position slightly (6% cash, 94% invested) in case some bargains come up post-correction.

These are choppy times and there is an uncertain near-term future – situation normal in the stock market. Some of his portfolio (e.g. CSL, WTC, TLX) have had big falls lately. However, Slack Investor has had a look at future revenue predictions and has not completely given up on these stocks. Though, CSL is losing its shine as a growth company in Slack Investor terms.

He will keep riding that stock market horse … and push to the forefront of his mind the pleasant times at the rodeo bar with his cowboy mates … reflecting on our glorious achievements.

October 2025 – End of Month Update

Slack Investor is IN for Australian index shares, the US Index S&P 500 and the FTSE 100.

The S&P 500 (+2.3%) and the FTSE 100 (+3.9%) have continued their strong monthly growth. Slack Investor is pleased to stay on board but there he remains nervous about the US markets. For the ASX 200, (+0.4%) a flat month with plenty of volatility.

All Index pages and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes – (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index).

CSL – Is Slack Investor flogging a dead horse? – September 2025 End of Month Update

Apologies to all readers who may have jumped on the CSL train in the past 5 years due to Slack Investor continually ‘bigging up’ this grand old stock. He has always been impressed with companies that spend a good portion of their profits in Research and Development.

‘CSL have committed to spending 10% of global revenue on R&D for new and existing products.’ _– _Livewire

Slack Investor has been a holder of this company since the ‘good old days’ (before 2020). But has occasionally topped up when the price dipped below $300. So, he does share some of the recent pain.

The latest price slump was on the back of the FY 2025 results and the announcement that one of CSL’s components, CSL Seqirus, was to be demerged. The markets were not that impressed with the planned restructure and slowing growth momentum.

However, some sectors of the business are doing well. CSL Behring and CSL Vifor reported strong growth.

This CSL horse should have some good riding ahead

The 2025 AGM indicated that management were taking the knife to costs and staff in a restructure of the business that is underpinned by the Seqirus spinoff and $500 million in pre-tax savings.

‘Despite all the headwinds from competition and regulatory price cuts, they’re (CSL) still growing double digit. I think that’s a pretty good business.‘ _{Daniel Moore – IML, reported in Livewire}

When nervous … Slack Investor will always go back to the numbers. Market Screener – Finance Tab for CSL supplies some of the answers. The Income chart looks healthy.

Income (Black) and projected income (Striped Grey) for CSL – Market Screener

Looking at the projected PE, ROE and growth from Market Screener – future predictions look OK.

Perhaps the big growth days of CSL are in the past due to the more competitive environment in some sectors of the business. However, Slack Investor is a long-term investor in CSL and happy to hold. He would buy more – if CSL wasn’t already 8.1% of portfolio.

September 2025 – End of Month Update

Another wild month. The S&P 500 (+3.5%) and the FTSE 100 (+1.8%) remain in all time high territory. The ASX 200 sputtering and down 1.4% for the month.

Slack Investor remains IN for all markets.

The recent strength of the US market has pushed the closing monthly value to more than 15% above my old stop loss. I adjusted the stop loss upwards to a new ‘higher low’ of 6212 for the S&P 500.

All Index pages and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes – (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index).

The quarterly updates showing the current holdings and cash position of the Slack Portfolio have also been completed.

Bogleheads and Vanguard Annual Chart – August 2025 End of Month Update

Slack Investor Hero John ‘Jack’ Bogle with a fitting ‘HOLD’ mantra.

Bogleheads and Vanguard

Slack Investor has paid tribute to the contribution that Jack Bogle has made to the investing world. He started Vanguard Investments in 1974. Bogle’s philosophy wasn’t about trying to beat the index and charging high costs – instead, he would offer a low-cost alternative fund based on the US index. Mr Bogle’s pioneering work with these low-cost funds has led to the popular low-cost Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) that proliferate today. Astonishingly, there are now more ETF’s listed in the US (4300) than actual companies (4200).

Slack Investor can well remember the days when a fund manager would charge you 4% of your capital for entry and then lift a further 2-3% in annual fees for the privilege of investing your money – that was not the ‘good old days’.

‘Bogleheads’ are a group of mainly US followers of Jack Bogle’s philosophy and they strive for long-term growth through low-cost, diversified index funds while minimizing fees. They are generally ‘Buy and Hold’ investors. One of their strategies is the three-fund portfolio – where investing is simplified into three low-cost funds – one for the local share market, one for international shares and one for bonds. For the US, the conservative recommended proportions are, your age defines the % in Bonds and the remainder percentage is split so that roughly 20% is in international equities.

In Australia, such a portfolio is a little more complicated as you need to cover yourself for currency risk – and hedge your international exposure for any fluctuations in the Australian dollar. Exposure to emerging markets is also recommended as a diversifier of risk. A Bogleheads type of portfolio is possible using 5 Vanguard funds.

AUD based equities	VAS (MER: 0.07%)	(Australian equities)
	VGAD (MER: 0.21%)	(Developed world ex-Australia equities – hedged to AUD)
Non-AUD based equities	VGS (MER: 0.18%)	(Developed world ex-Australia equities)
	VGE (MER: 0.48%)	(Emerging Markets)
Bonds	VAF (MER: 0.10%)	(Aggregate bond fund)

The 5 ETF’s for an Australian Bogleheads portfolio. Management Expense Ratios (MER) ar shown for each ETF. For a younger person, Australian Bogleheads suggest proportions VAS: 20%, VGAD: 20%, VGS: 40%, VGE: 10% and VAF: 10% – From Passive Investing Australia.

Slack Investor can see the attraction that Bogleheads have in passive investing and, when he loses his mojo, will opt for a more simplified Boglehead-approved passive exposure to growth and cash/bond assets. Stockspot also offer diversified portfolios using just 5 ETF’s – with excellent performance so far.

Vanguard Financial Year Total Returns for major asset classes

Every August, Vanguard produces a summary brochure focusing on the last 30 years of finance data. It is a reminder that the top performing asset class for each year (green) is seldom the top performer the year after. A lesson in diversification.

Extract from the FY 2025 Vanguard Index Chart Brochure showing the total returns for each asset class for the financial years since 1996. Top performing asset class for the year is highlighted in green and the worst in pink.

Vanguard Annual Chart

It is now time for Slack Investor’s favourite chart – a succinct demonstration of long-term investing. The essence of successful investing is to be invested at least somewhere in appreciating assets – and then, let time do its work. Below is an extract from the Vanguard 2025 long-term investing chart. The numbers on the right are the results of investing $10,000 in the Index funds of the indicated asset classes for 30 years.

Extract from the 2025 Vanguard Index chart (Just the 2007-2025 portion is shown) – the dollar values on the right are the results of investing $10,000 in index funds in each asset class for 30 years (since July 1995). *– Check out the full 30-year glory of the* Vanguard 2025.PDF chart *– Click image for the whole 30-yr chart.*

August 2025 – End of Month Update

Slack Investor is IN for Australian index shares, the US Index S&P 500 and the FTSE 100.

The S&P 500 (+1.9%) continues its progress. Slack Investor is pleased to go with the flow but remains nervous for the US markets. For the ASX 200 (+2.6%) and the FTSE 100 (+0.6%), also some monthly gains.

The latest reporting season has brought a few shocks to the Slack Portfolio. Big falls in Botanix (BOT), Telix Pharma (TLX), and CSL. Not so worried about CSL, but looking to reduce holdings in the less established companies (BOT, TLX) when things settle down. Next blog, Slack investor will go into detail how he is dealing with a few sudden drops in individual stocks.

All Index pages and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes – (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index).

FY 2025 Nuggets and Stinkers and July 2025 – End of Month Update

‘Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.’
Nelson Mandela

Slack Investor is obviously not in Nelson Mandela’s league … but I do admire President Mandela’s resilience. Learning to live with stock prices that go down is an important part of successful investing.

This post is a bit of an annual ‘poke around’ in the portfolio. The percentage yearly returns quoted in this post include costs (brokerage) but, the returns are before tax. This raw figure can then be compared with other investment returns.

I use the incredibly useful Market Screener to analyze the financial data from each company. This excellent site allows free access (up to a daily limit) to their analyst’s data, on the financials tab for each stock, once you register with an email address. Slack Investor extracted the predicted 2027 Price/Earnings (PE) Ratio and Return on Equity (ROE) and average forecast revenue growth for the financial years 2025, 2026 and 2027. He then condensed all this information into one number, the Slack Factor, to make things easy for Slack Investor’s limited brain. The Slack Factor is still ‘experimental’ but, increasingly, Slack Investor is using it to differentiate between stocks – the higher Slack Factor, the better.

Slack Investor Stinkers – FY 2025

Financial year 2025 was big on volatility. Despite this, Slack Investor’s followed markets all ended up with solid total returns when dividends are taken into account. Australia +9.0%, the UK +10.8%, and the US +15.2%. Slack Investor knows that stinkers are a part of the game, even in good years – and managed to attach himself to a few stinkers along the way.

Webjet (WEB + WJL) -46%

This is a complicated story as Slack Investor bought into Webjet (WEB) which then split into two entities. The ‘sizzle’ was that Web Travel Group contained a wholesale booking business that was growing fast. Suffice to say, that sales didn’t meet expectations and both companies sank. He then lost faith and sold both. When it comes to the travel business, Slack Investor wants to be only a consumer as there seems too much competition in this field.

CSL (CSL) -18%

(CSL – Forecast 2027: PE 22, ROE 18%, Av. Growth 14%, Slack Factor 12). CSL is a big holding for Slack Investor (10% of portfolio) and, for the past 6 years, has been rangebound between $230 and $330. It has not had the chart of a growth stock but, they have continued to spend on Research & Product Development at levels around 10% of revenue. This should be a good thing for future earnings. The eternal optimist in me is thinking … this is the year! But, I also thought this last year … and the year before … there is a strong chart signal this year though – the powerful ‘wedgie’! If it wasn’t already such a large part of my portfolio, now would be a good time to buy.

Botanix Pharma (BOT) -12%

Slack Investor entered the murky and volatile world of Biotechs with a small stake (0.2% of portfolio) in Botanix Pharmaceuticals. So far, not very good! It seems there is a lot that can go wrong in this field for startups.

Slack Investor also went backwards with his holdings in Dicker Data (DDR), GlobalX ACDC ETF, and Cochlear (COH) – all now sold. Wisetech (WTC) and Alphabet (GOOGL) were also on the slide but, thankfully now recovering.

Slack Investor Nuggets – FY 2025

Nuggets are a blessing in any portfolio – this Financial Year, there were some bewdies. Slack Investor continues to invest in high Return on Equity (ROE) companies with a track record of increasing earnings. If expectations are met, companies with these qualities sometimes behave as ‘golden nuggets’.

TechnologyOne (TNE) +124%

(TNE – Forecast 2027: PE 64, ROE 34%, Av. Growth 20%, Slack Factor 11). Technology One is a great Australian success story. It sells software as a service to other companies internationally. I first came across this company through Rudi Filapek-Vandyck – who included TNE as one of his ‘All Weather’ stocks. Glad to be an owner of TNE, as well as owning many other of Rudi’s All Weathers. Very highly valued (2027 PE 64) now though!

Pro Medicus (PME) +104%

(PME – Forecast 2027: PE 154, ROE 53%, Av. Growth 38%, Slack Factor 13). Pro Medicus is a developer and supplier of healthcare imaging software and services to hospitals and diagnostic imaging groups. The Price to Earnings ratio is frighteningly high (2027 PE 154) – but Slack Investor is enjoying the journey.

Codan (CDA) +75%

(CDA – Forecast 2027: PE 27, ROE 23%, Av. Growth 20%, Slack Factor 17). Codan is a technology company that specializes in communications and metal detecting. It is one of Slack Investor’s core holdings. CDA has had a checkered past – a nugget in FY 2021 (+161%), a stinker in FY 2022 (-58%), a nugget in 2024 (+54%), and again, a nugget (+75%) in 2025. What has kept me in the stock was its low debt, (generally) increasing earnings, and the high profitability (ROE 23%).

Supply Network (SNL) +70%

(SNL – Forecast 2027: PE 30, ROE 38%, Av. Growth 18%, Slack Factor 23). Supply Network are a bus and truck parts distribution company using the Multispares brand. Although there are competitors in the big-vehicle parts business, what sets SNL apart from the rest is their great management and strict adherence to processes and efficiency. They have consistently held a profitability advantage over their rivals. They have maintained a high Return on Equity (ROE) of 36% even as the company has expanded and grown in price. What a well-run company!

Megaport (MP1) +52%

(MP1 – Forecast 2027: PE 74, ROE 18%, Av. Growth 55%, Slack Factor 13). Megaport provides software that helps other companies to create and manage secure network connections between offices and the cloud. They must be doing something right as their average predicted revenue growth for the next 3 years is 55%! I’m in, but this is one of Slack Investor’s more risky buys!

Nick Scali (NCK) +43%

(NCK– Forecast 2027: PE 18, ROE 28%, Av. Growth 14%, Slack Factor 22). Nick Scali is well known in Australia for importing and retailing furniture. They have done an excellent job of expanding their business in Australia due to their fine management skills. They expanded into the UK in 2024 and have been quietly, and efficiently, getting on with the job. Future profitability remains good (ROE 28%), and PE not too high.

Some very honourable mentions to some top results this year that didn’t quite make the nuggets. BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (HACK) +38%; Resmed Technologies (RMD.AX) +38%; XRF Scientific (XRF) +37%; Wesfarmers (WES) +35%; Coles (COL) +29% and REA Group (REA) +24%.

Slack Investor Investments performance – FY 2025

After a bonanza FY 2024, this was a wild ‘Trump affected’ FY 2025. In the Australian superannuation scene, the median growth fund (61 to 80% in growth assets) did manage to return+10.5% in FY 2025.

Slack investor has just two piles of funds for his retirement – the Stable Income pile (Cash and Conservative) and an Investments Pile. The Stable income represents around 25% of total retirement funds. I used to rebalance each of my piles after every year, but the stable pile now has enough in it that, together with dividends from my investments, could supply me with enough living expenses to last out an extended (3-yr) bad run of the stock markets. Slack Investor would not be forced to sell stocks. The stable pile has again produced a moderate return of nearly 5% (inflation plus ~ 2.5%).

The Investments Portfolio rise nicely with preliminary figures showing an 18.1% rise at June 30, 2025. A good result for Slack Investor in his growth investments pile. Including the relatively low returns from my stable income pile (4.7%), overall, the weighted return on all my retirement funds grew 14.6%.

For the most part, Slack Investor concentrates his annual performance details for the much more exciting Investments pile.

For Slack Investor, the 5-yr performance is a more useful way of measuring – as it takes out the fluctuations of yearly returns. At the end of FY 2025, the Slack Investments Portfolio has a compounding 5-yr annual return of around 15%. Full results and benchmarks expected next post.

July 2025 – end of Month Update

The new financial year has started off positively for Slack Investor markets. The ASX 200 + 2.3%; FTSE 100 +4.2%; and S&P 500 +2.2%. He remains IN for all index positions.

I have taken the opportunity to adjust upwards the stop losses on all followed index markets. The prices had crept up to around 15% above their old stop losses. See Index pages for details.

All Index pages (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index) and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes.

Growth Professionals … and June 2025 – End of Month Update

Slack Investor has a healthy regard for those who make a living based upon their performance. It is a general financial wisdom that, if you are following large companies, you will very probably be better off in the long term with passive index funds.

Percentage of **active** funds that **underperform** (orange) over a 15-yr period – Spiva

However, some active boutique stock pickers may have an advantage when it comes to smaller international companies. In this category, 33.65% of active funds are able to outperform over a 15-yr period.

Slack Investor is currently backing his own abilities on the stock picking front. But, there will come a time when I lack the ability or inclination to do the (admittedly limited) research work. Also, there are some Slack Investor readers who would like to outsource this task.

Hyperion Global Growth Companies Fund ETF (ASX: HYGG)

I don’t follow individual companies in overseas markets that closely – but there are those that do – and do it very well.

Hyperion are Brisbane-based and started this managed fund back in 2014. They have also offered access as a listed ETF on the ASX since 2021. The ETF would be the way that I would buy it.

HYGG is not a low-cost fund as it has a Management Expense Ratio of 0.70% and an outperformance fee of 20% against benchmarks. The ETF, to date, has not paid a dividend. However, in this case, it seems that the managers are offering good value net of fees.

Growth of the Hyperion Global Growth Companies Fund **after fees and costs have been extracted** since 2014 – Hyperion

One-year performance (2024 May +47.3%) is impressive. However, Slack Investor is after the real grafters who can produce impressive results over the long-term. Hyperion is establishing a case for consideration.

5 and 10 year Performance of HYGG – net of fees – Hyperion

The advantage of an active fund manager is that they can be nimble and take advantage of any opportunities that the Hyperion analysts discover.

Holdings	% Portfolio Weight	1-Year Return	Forward P/E
Tesla Inc	12.29	65.9	166.67
ServiceNow Inc	9.42	34.16	60.98
Microsoft Corp	7.95	10.73	33.11
Palantir Technologies Inc Ordinary Shares – Class A	7.65	498.55	263.16
ASML Holding NV ADR	7.15	-20.81	28.74
Spotify Technology SA	7.1	143.26	71.43
Amazon.com Inc	7	12.14	33.67
Block Inc Class A	5.72	2.88	17.73
Meta Platforms Inc Class A	4.61	41.9	28.65

_{Table of the top holdings of HYGG, their portfolio weight, 1-yr return, and forward PE at May 2025.}

When it is time to really ‘get on the couch’, Slack Investor would take a look at these blokes to invest his money. This Hyperion crowd seem to know what they are doing.

June 2025 – End of Month Update

The financial year closes and the Australian, UK and US markets are all in positive territory for the financial year.

Slack Investor remains IN for all followed markets. The ASX 200 (+1.3%) and FTSE 100 (-0.1%) moved modestly. It is a continuation of good times in the US with the S&P 500 rising 5.0%. Are our American friends delusional in an expensive US market? Or, is Slack Investor missing something.

All Index pages and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes – (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index). The quarterly updates to the Slack Portfolio have also been completed.