Top funds, stocks and trusts to invest in

Every month, we look at the bestselling funds, stocks and trusts among DIY investors.

There are fewer months in recent memory that have seen more market volatility than April. But this doesn’t seem to have spooked DIY investors.

Though, to shield themselves against the volatility, investors have favoured money market funds and poured money into gold, according to the latest data from Interactive Investor (ii).

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As for stocks, investors have kept investing in US tech favourites like Nvidia, Tesla, and Amazon, with many looking to take advantage of the dip.

Though these were all popular purchases, the top stocks ii investors bought in April were FTSE 100 blue-chips BP, Legal & General and Rolls Royce.

The popularity of BP is particularly interesting as the oil and gas multinational was not even in the top 10 stocks bought in March.

Here are the most purchased stocks, trusts and funds purchased on the ii platform in April.

Most popular stocks

Banking stocks remained high on the list as Barclays was the fifth-most bought stock by ii’s investors, while Lloyds Banking Group was not too far behind at number nine.

FTSE stalwart Glencore was the sixth-most bought stock last month. The mining firm recently suggested it could leave the London Stock Exchange.

Finally, the only UK-listed firm in the top ten that was not a constituent of the FTSE 100 was Greatland Gold, a mining firm that is listed on the LSE’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM). It was the seventh-most bought stock by ii’s investors in April.

Keith Bowman, equity analyst at ii notes that Greatland’s popularity likely comes from investors’ desire for gold exposure after the yellow metal “rose by close to 5% and helped to bring gold plays to the attention of investors”.

Bestselling stocks in April

1. BP
2. Legal & General
3. Rolls Royce
4. Nvidia
5. Barclays
6. Glencore
7. Greatland Gold
8. Tesla
9. Lloyds Banking
10. Amazon

^{Source: Interactive Investor.}

Most popular funds

When it comes to the most popular index funds and ETFs, Vanguard fund contunued to be the most popular in April.

The two most popular funds last month were both tied to the performance of the S&P 500 as investors poured their money into Vanguard’s S&P 500 UCITS ETF.

Considering the volatility seen in the S&P 500 during April, investors will have been pleased when they saw the index finish broadly flat over the month.

Remaining on the theme of market volatility, iShares’ Physical Gold ETC was the third-most popular fund in April as investors likely opted for gold exposure as a safe haven from the volatility in equities.

In all, the rankings for ii’s most popular index funds was left broadly the same as in March, minus some minor reshuffling.

Kyle Caldwell, funds and investment education editor at ii says this could be a result of “many investors sticking to their long-term plan” despite April’s volatility.

The top-selling active fund for ii was Royal London’s Short Term Money Market Fund, with other money market funds appearing in the top ten.

As mentioned previously, this could be because investors are trying to hedge against equity market volatility by instead opting to invest some of their cash into tamer money markets.

Bestselling active funds in April

1. Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund
2. Fundsmith Equity
3. Jupiter India
4. Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund
5. Vanguard Sterling Short-Term Money Markets
6. L&G Cash Trust
7. Artemis Global Income
8. Fidelity Cash
9. Fidelity Global Technology
10. Fidelity Global Dividend

Bestselling index funds and ETFs

1. Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF | Dis
2. Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF | Acc
3. iShares Physical Gold ETC
4. Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity
5. HSBC FTSE All World Index
6. Invesco EQQQ NASDAQ 100-100 UCITS ETF
7. Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF
8. iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF
9. Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity
10. L&G Global Technology Index

^{Source: Interactive Investor.}

Most popular trusts

Polar Capital Technology and Henderson Far East Income were new to the mix in April, as investors also seek growth opportunities.

Polar Capital Technology, a trust which primarily invests in shares that fit into technology themes, was the seventh-most bought trust and is focused on growth.

Meanwhile, the high yield trust is Henderson Far East Income which Caldwell says “has been catching the eye of income-seeking investors, with its high yield of 11.7%”.

The overall bestselling investment trust in April, however, remains Scottish Mortgage, while the second-bestselling trust is City of London, which rejoined the top ten list in March.

Bestselling trusts in April

1. Scottish Mortgage
2. City of London
3. JPMorgan Global Growth & Income
4. Greencoat UK Wind
5. Alliance Witan
6. F&C Investment Trust
7. Polar Capital Technology
8. Allianz Technology
9. 3i Group
10. Henderson Far East Income

^{Source: Interactive Investor.}