Every month, we look at the bestselling funds, stocks and trusts among DIY investors.
March has been an interesting month, with US president Donald Trump’s tariffs causing further volatility in equity markets. Investors have also been rushing to use up their annual ISA and pension allowances before the end of the tax year on 5 April.
Despite the volatility, some familiar favourites have made it into the top 10, based on data from investment platform Interactive Investor.
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Investors are continuing to show some love to beleaguered e-vehicle giant Tesla, which was the third-most popular stock in March. This marks no change from February, when the company also occupied third position.
The ongoing popularity of Tesla is perhaps surprising when you consider its share price is down more than 26% year to date.
Controversial chief executive Elon Musk has done himself few favours by wading into US politics. Any gains seen by the stock in the immediate aftermath of the election result have been wiped out.
Other tech stocks in the top 10 include Nvidia, whose share price is down more than 20% year to date, and Amazon, which is down almost 12%.
The sector has been hurt by the tariff-related sell-off in US equity markets, concerns about unsustainable tech sector valuations, and the emergence of Chinese chatbot DeepSeek.
A notable movement this month has been Rolls-Royce’s climb from fourth to first place in the league table, and BAE Systems’ climb from ninth to fourth. Investors are clearly looking to derive returns from the increased focus on European security and defence.
“Military tensions have resulted in a large actual or proposed bout of increased defence spending, and Interactive Investor clients appear to have been riding this wave,” said Richard Hunter, head of markets at the investment platform.
“BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce remain on the list, having now risen by 35% and 26% respectively in the year to date. Indeed, Rolls-Royce has seen an additional boost having implemented a turnaround plan which firmly placed it in investors’ good books,” he added. “These shares have risen by 84% over the last year, with little sign of the positive momentum fading.”
Most popular stocks
In addition to the names mentioned previously, some traditional UK equity giants make an appearance, including mining company and commodity trader Glencore, financial services company Legal & General, housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, and International Consolidated Airlines Group (the parent company of British Airways).
All five are constituents of the UK’s main market index, the FTSE 100, which has had a strong start to the year (+4%), outperforming its US and global counterparts.
Interestingly, the only one of these five companies that has outperformed the benchmark index in terms of year-to-date share price returns is Legal & General. However, investors may have been motivated by the high dividend yields on offer in some cases. They may also be hoping to benefit from a long-term value play, snapping companies up at a discounted price.
Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems are also FTSE 100 stocks, but have had a far better year so far, outperforming the benchmark index by some margin.
Bestselling stocks in March
- Rolls-Royce
- Nvidia
- Tesla
- BAE Systems
- Legal & General
- MicroStrategy
- Taylor Wimpey
- Glencore
- International Consolidated Airlines Group
- Amazon
Source: Interactive Investor.
Most popular funds
Once again, there are some familiar favourites in the top funds list this month. The Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF retained its position as the bestselling index fund in March, despite the sell-off seen in US equity markets.
Cash also remains popular, including the Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund, Fidelity Cash and Legal & General Cash.
“Short-term bond yields in the UK remained relatively elevated through most of March and the Bank of England refrained from lowering the base rate,” said Alex Watts, senior investment data analyst at Interactive Investor.
“Money market funds have continued to offer attractive income above UK CPI, as well as offering some shelter from the global equity market volatility brought by the US administration’s tariff implementation,” he added.
Some newcomers also made it into the list, though, including the Jupiter Gold & Silver Fund, which invests in the shares of listed companies with exposure to gold and silver metals.
It would appear investors are trying to cash in on the soaring gold price, which crossed the $3,000 threshold for the first time in March. The yellow metal is seen as a safe-haven asset in turbulent times. Silver has also enjoyed a strong bull run so far this year, up around 17% at the time of writing.
It is worth pointing out that the fortunes of gold and silver companies (such as miners) do not always mirror the price of the metals themselves. If you want exposure to the gold or silver price, you might be better off with an exchange-traded commodity product. For example, the iShares Physical Gold ETC (which also made it into the top funds list this month) could offer more of a pure play on the gold price.
Bestselling active funds in March
- Royal London Short Term Money Market
- Fundsmith Equity
- Jupiter India
- Artemis Global Income
- Artemis SmartGARP European Equity
- Fidelity Global Technology
- Artemis UK Select
- Fidelity Cash Fund
- Legal & General Cash
- Jupiter Gold & Silver
Bestselling index funds and ETFs
- Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF
- iShares Physical Gold ETC
- Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity
- Legal & General Global Technology
- HSBC FTSE All World
- Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity
- Invesco EQQQ Nasdaq 100 ETF
- Fidelity Index World
- iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF
- Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index
Source: Interactive Investor.
Most popular trusts
There were only two new additions to the list of bestselling trusts in March – City of London and JP Morgan European Growth & Income.
“One of those new entries, City of London, is no stranger to the top 10,” said Kyle Caldwell, funds and investment education editor at Interactive Investor. “It is managed by veteran fund manager Job Curtis, and this ‘Steady Eddie’ investment trust is a reliable dividend payer, having increased payouts each year since 1966.”
The City of London trust primarily holds FTSE 100 companies.
“In contrast, the other new entry, JP Morgan European Growth & Income, has never appeared in the top 10 since we started compiling the rankings in 2018,” Caldwell said.
The JP Morgan trust invests in Europe and, as Caldwell points out, the region has had a good year so far in 2025. Many European companies look cheap, particularly compared to their US counterparts. Some investors have been switching from one market to the other in light of recent volatility in the US.
Bestselling trusts in March
- Scottish Mortgage
- Greencoat UK Wind
- JP Morgan Global Growth & Income
- Alliance Witan
- City of London
- F&C Investment Trust
- Allianz Technology
- JP Morgan European Growth & Income
- 3i Group
- The Renewables Infrastructure Group
Source: Interactive Investor.
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