The top stocks DIY investors bought in August. Are they taking more risk?

Investors still appear to be balancing between growth opportunities and defensive plays when picking stocks and funds for their portfolio, with risk assets seemingly coming back into vogue for some.

Data from investment firm Fidelity International on the most popular stocks, funds and investment trusts in August shows, on the one hand, that DIY investors sought out solid defensive plays; British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) was the most popular stock of the month among ISA and SIPP investors. But higher risk stocks also featured high on the list, with several representing riskier growth areas like tech and cryptocurrency (crypto).

“August’s rankings suggest investors are balancing caution with continued appetite for growth, combining more established, income-oriented areas of the market with selective exposure to themes such as artificial intelligence (AI) and digital assets,” said Ed Monk, pensions and investment specialist at Fidelity International.

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The top stocks and funds that other investors are buying can be revealing in terms of market confidence and prevailing themes – so which were the most-bought stocks, funds and investment trusts during August?

The most-bought stocks in August

Besides British American Tobacco, the top-three most-bought stocks in August on Fidelity’s platform were filled out with healthcare companies: pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and Primary Health Properties (LON:PHP), a real estate investment trust that invests in healthcare properties.

“We can’t know what prompted individual purchases, but some investors may be looking to businesses in more established sectors as a counterweight to growth-focused holdings,” said Monk.

^{Source: Fidelity International}

Looking further down the list, though, makes it clear that some investors are still interested in risk. The fourth- and fifth-most popular stocks were Circle Internet (NYSE:CRCL) and Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) (formerly MicroStrategy), both of which have close ties to crypto markets. Strategy is well-known for being the first company to strategically hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet, while Circle builds digital payments networks and issues stablecoins including USDC, the world’s largest.

Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) also featured in the top 10 list, as did memory chipmaker Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) – whose gains of 560% in 2026 through to the end of August have seen it promoted out of the global small cap index.

The most-bought funds and investment trusts in August

The four most-bought funds on Fidelity during August were all global tracker funds, with Lazard Emerging Markets Fund the highest-ranking fund that reflected anything other than a global equity strategy.

Investment trust exposure was more varied, with some of the top picks pointing towards strategic exposure to regions like Japan, asset classes like private equity, or renewable energy.

^{Source: Fidelity International}

“With index trackers accounting for half of the ten best-selling funds and global strategies particularly prominent, investors appear to be combining broad diversification with selective bets on income, technology, and digital assets,” said Monk.