The top stocks and funds to buy according to DIY investors

Every month, we look at the stocks, funds and investment trusts that DIY investors have bought through investment platforms.

Data from Interactive Investor (ii) about its customers' top stock and fund picks during February shows that banking stocks, as well as precious metals like gold and silver, were top of investors’ shopping lists over the month.

“Reporting season among the British lenders drove increased buying activity with lenders like Barclays (LON:BARC) and NatWest (LON:NWG) releasing earnings that were largely positively received,” said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at ii.

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The US stock selloff saw chipmaking giant Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) fall out of the top 10 most-bought stocks on ii during January, and it didn’t make a return in February despite beating on earnings late in the month.

Meanwhile, data from Fidelity covering January and February showed more appetite for tech stocks, with Relx (LON:REL), Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) all among the top five most-bought stocks over the two month period.

This is where investors on the two investment platforms put their money in the opening months of the year.

DIY investors’ top stock picks for February

NatWest and Lloyds (LON:LLOY) were the two top stock picks among ii’s customers during February, and were joined by Barclays in the top ten.

“FTSE 100 heavyweights like Rolls Royce (LON:RR.), Legal & General (LON:LGEN), Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Diageo (LON:DGE) continued to power ii customers’ portfolios last month,” said Scholar, adding that they were joined by the US tech firms as well.

^{Source: Interactive Investor}

DIY investors’ top funds for February

“Commodities continue to be a key area of focus, with three tracker funds and two actively managed funds focused on the asset class featuring in our most-bought lists in February,” said Kyle Caldwell, funds and investment education editor at ii.

“Investors appear unfazed by the volatility that played out for both silver and gold in late January,” Caldwell added. “However, it’s worth bearing in mind that while the sell-off proved to be short-lived, the sharp falls serve as a reminder that the prices of both precious metals can fluctuate rapidly.”

Value-focused funds and specialist strategies with high yields, such as Artemis Global Income and Ranmore Global Equity were also in high demand.

Investors on ii bought these active funds in the highest quantities during February:

^{Source: Interactive Investor}

Meanwhile, these index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were the most popular during the month:

^{Source: Interactive Investor}

The most-bought investment trusts during February

Greencoat UK Wind (LON:UKW) topped the list of the most-bought investment trusts on ii during February. Caldwell highlighted this, along with The Renewables Infrastructure Group (LON:TRIG), as interesting options for income-focused investors – both yielding around 11% as of 3 March.

These were investors’ most-bought investment trusts on ii during February:

^{Source: Interactive Investor}

Which were the most bought stocks, funds and investment trusts during January and February?

According to Fidelity’s data, these were the most-bought stocks across January and February:

^{Source: Fidelity International}

“The prominence of US technology giants suggests investors have not been overly alarmed by rumours of an AI bubble,” said Jemma Slingo, pensions and investment specialist at Fidelity International. “Amazon, Microsoft, Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) and Sandisk Corp were all popular, alongside UK names such as Relx.”

Over the same period, these were the most-bought funds:

Source: Fidelity International

“January and February’s best-selling funds show ISA investors firmly in global mode,” said Slingo. “Broad-based strategies such as Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund and HSBC FTSE All World Index Fund were among the most popular choices, alongside actively managed global funds including Dodge & Cox Worldwide Global Stock Fund and Artemis Global Income Fund.”

Slingo also highlighted a preference for emerging markets and Japanese stocks, with Lazard Emerging Markets Fund and Artemis SmartGARP Global Emerging Markets Equity among the most-bought funds, and Fidelity Emerging Markets (LON:FEML) and Schroder Japan Trust (LON:SJG) both among the most-bought investment trusts.

These were the most-bought investment trusts for Fidelity customers during January and February:

^{Source: Fidelity International}

Read our explainers on investment funds and the best investment trusts for beginners for more information and inspiration for your portfolio.