SpaceX tops DIY investors’ stock picks in June
Which other stocks, funds and investment trusts did DIY investors buy in June alongside the blockbuster IPO?
For most of June there was only one thing the investment community was focused on: the initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space exploration and artificial intelligence (AI) company.
SpaceX’s IPO was the largest of all time, raising around $75 billion for the company and netting it a valuation, at the end of the first day of trading, of over $2.1 trillion, putting it straight into the world’s 10 largest companies by market capitalisation.
DIY investors seem to have bought strongly into the excitement around the launch. SpaceX topped the list of most-bought stocks on investment platform Interactive Investor (ii) during June, while space was also a recurring theme among the most-bought funds and investment trusts.
Try 6 free issues of MoneyWeek today
Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
“Unsurprisingly, Elon Musk’s space company rocketed straight to the top of the leaderboard following its historic IPO on 12 June,” said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at ii.
SpaceX shares closed their first day of trading 56.6% above the IPO price of $135, and continued to soar over the next two sessions, closing 16 June at $211.39.
Some of the fuel has come out of the stock since then, though: SpaceX closed 2 July at $162, 23.4% below its 16 June close.
The most-bought stocks in June
SpaceX led a tech-wards shift in investor behaviour last month, with a number of FTSE 100 regular features displaced by big tech alternatives.
“Unusually, Legal & General, Lloyds, and BP were knocked off the most-bought stocks list in June, replaced by tech names like SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX), Micron (NASDAQ:MU) [and] Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) which came in first, second and third position respectively,” said Scholar.
Equities | |
1 | Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) |
2 | Micron Technology |
3 | Microsoft |
4 | Nvidia |
5 | Strategy |
6 | Rolls Royce |
7 | Marvell Technology |
8 | Glencore |
9 | Broadcom |
10 | Aviva |
Source: Interactive Investor
Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), a US-based tech company famous for holding Bitcoin on its balance sheet and thus acting as a proxy stock for the cryptocurrency, entered the top ten list for the first time this year.
Only three London-listed stocks – Rolls Royce (LON:RR.), Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Aviva (LON:AV.) – made it into the 10 most-bought stocks in June.
The most-bought funds and ETFs in June
DIY investors’ top fund picks for June reflected “the ups and downs of growth investing”, according to ii’s funds and investment education editor Kyle Caldwell.
“Investors continued to favour global approaches over dedicated regional fund exposure,” he said. “Popular passive funds included Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index, HSBC FTSE All World Index, Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity and Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity.”
| Active Open-Ended Fund | Index Fund or ETF |
1 | Royal London Short Term Money Market | Acc | Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index |
2 | Artemis Global Income | Acc | HSBC FTSE All World Index |
3 | WS Blue Whale Growth Fund | iShares Physical Gold ETC |
4 | Polar Capital Global Technology | GBP | VanEck Semiconductor UCITS ETF |
5 | Royal London Short Term Money Market | Dis | Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF | Acc |
6 | Artemis Global Income | Dis | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity |
7 | Artemis SmartGARP Global Equity Fund | L&G Global Technology Index Trust |
8 | Artemis SmartGARP Global Emerging Markets Equity Fund | iShares Physical Silver ETC |
9 | Vanguard Sterling Short Term Money Markets | Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF | Dis |
10 | Polar Capital Global Technology | GBP Hedged | Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity |
Source: Interactive Investor
Precious metals were represented despite falling gold prices during the month.
“Royal London Short Term Money Market remains in pole position,” said Caldwell. “The cash-like fund yields around 4%, but this is highly dependent on UK interest rates. If rates were to fall, then this slowly feeds through to a lower yield for such funds.
“However, with the base rate held at 3.75%, they are currently an attractive way of earning a low-risk return.”
The most-bought investment trusts in June
Technology and space dominated once again when it came to DIY investors’ picks of investment trusts during June.
“Investors continued to buy into some investment trusts associated both with technology and the space boom, with Scottish Mortgage (LON:SMT), Polar Capital Technology (LON:PCT) and Seraphim Space (LON:SSIT) occupying the top three spots,” said Caldwell.
| |
1 | Scottish Mortgage |
2 | Polar Capital Technology |
3 | Seraphim Space |
4 | Greencoat UK Wind |
5 | Henderson FE Income |
6 | City of London |
7 | F&C Investment Trust |
8 | 3i Group |
9 | Allianz Technology |
10 | JP Morgan Global Growth & Income |
Source: Interactive Investor
Equity income strategies still found their place alongside this demand for growth, though, with Greencoat UK Wind (LON:UKW), Henderson Far East Income (LON:HFEL), City of London (LON:CTY) and JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (LON:JGGI) all among the top 10 most-bought investment trusts.
