Maximising your annual ISA allowance can be a great way to grow your wealth and many of the top performing investment trusts will have turned committed investors into millionaires within 25 years.
Investors will be looking for the best places to invest their ISA money as the end of the tax year approaches and the ultimate financial dream for many is to reach ISA millionaire status.
Research by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has revealed that 50 investment trusts would have made investors more than £1 million if they had invested the full annual ISA allowance in the same trust each year between 1999 and 2024.
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Investors could even be sitting on a sum worth more than £2 million if they had invested in and reinvested dividends with any of the top four performers – Allianz Technology Trust, HgCapital Trust, Polar Capital Technology and Scottish Mortgage.
That is not bad for an investment of £326,560 over the 25-year period.
Here are the top investment trusts that have helped make investors ISA millionaires.
Top investment trusts
Investment trusts regularly appear on best buy lists and despite active investor concerns about discounts to net asset value (NAV), those who have kept the faith over the long-term are being rewarded.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the dominance of the Magnificent Seven, technology and the US are strong themes among the top performing trusts.
Allianz Technology Trust and Polar Capital Technology, which both invest in a global portfolio of technology companies, returned £2,936,182 and £2,696,343 respectively over 25 years.
HgCapital Trust, which invests in unquoted software and technology services businesses, returned £2,789,473.
Scottish Mortgage, a global trust with a growth-focused mandate, returned £2,335,775.
Additionally, JPMorgan American, which returned £1,902,265, invests mainly in North American quoted companies where many of the top tech stocks are based.
Among the 50 “ISA millionaire” investment trusts, 14 focus on smaller companies.
Three of these investment trusts are from the Asia Pacific Smaller Companies sector, including the sixth best performing “ISA millionaire” trust abrdn Asia Focus which returned £1,792,184.
A further three are from the European Smaller Companies sector, of which Montanaro European Smaller Companies is the best performing, returning £1,302,101.
Five of these trusts are from the UK Smaller Companies sector with JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income performing best of these, returning £1,278,186.
Rank | Investment trust | AIC sector | % share price total return, 06/04/1999 to 31/01/2025 | Total ISA investment value at 31/01/2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Allianz Technology Trust | Technology & Technology Innovation | 2,669 | £2,936,182 |
2 | HgCapital Trust | Private Equity | 4,565 | £2,789,473 |
3 | Polar Capital Technology | Technology & Technology Innovation | 2,236 | £2,696,343 |
4 | Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust | Global | 1,967 | £2,335,775 |
5 | JPMorgan American | North America | 1,214 | £1,902,265 |
6 | abrdn Asia Focus | Asia Pacific Smaller Companies | 4,459 | £1,792,184 |
7 | Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies | Asia Pacific Smaller Companies | 4,535 | £1,752,157 |
8 | JPMorgan Global Growth & Income | Global Equity Income | 1,153 | £1,576,124 |
9 | Pacific Horizon Investment Trust | Asia Pacific | 2,564 | £1,446,060 |
10 | JPMorgan US Smaller Companies | North American Smaller Companies | 1,608 | £1,413,195 |
11 | International Biotechnology | Biotechnology & Healthcare | 2,139 | £1,398,167 |
12 | Worldwide Healthcare Trust | Biotechnology & Healthcare | 2,201 | £1,333,068 |
13 | Fidelity European Trust | Europe | 1,900 | £1,322,452 |
14 | Herald Investment Trust | Global Smaller Companies | 1,035 | £1,302,252 |
15 | Montanaro European Smaller Companies | European Smaller Companies | 1,121 | £1,302,101 |
16 | Mid Wynd International | Global | 1,336 | £1,301,629 |
17 | The European Smaller Companies Trust | European Smaller Companies | 1,051 | £1,295,133 |
18 | JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income | UK Smaller Companies | 1,430 | £1,278,186 |
19 | JPMorgan European Discovery | European Smaller Companies | 1,929 | £1,272,189 |
20 | F&C Investment Trust | Global | 867 | £1,271,372 |
21 | Canadian General Investments | North America | 1,559 | £1,270,532 |
22 | BlackRock Throgmorton Trust | UK Smaller Companies | 1,261 | £1,243,218 |
23 | BlackRock Smaller Companies | UK Smaller Companies | 1,201 | £1,237,287 |
24 | JPMorgan Indian | India/Indian Subcontinent | 1,990 | £1,220,562 |
25 | ICG Enterprise Trust | Private Equity | 665 | £1,220,536 |
26 | Alliance Witan | Global | 697 | £1,208,458 |
27 | Law Debenture Corporation | UK Equity Income | 881 | £1,207,077 |
28 | Rights & Issues Investment Trust | UK Smaller Companies | 1,655 | £1,200,227 |
29 | Fidelity Special Values | UK All Companies | 1,919 | £1,198,034 |
30 | Invesco Asia Dragon* | Asia Pacific Equity Income | 1,133 | £1,196,213 |
31 | Brunner Investment Trust | Global | 665 | £1,195,367 |
32 | AVI Global Trust | Global | 1,639 | £1,183,941 |
33 | Monks Investment Trust | Global | 907 | £1,165,093 |
34 | Biotech Growth Trust | Biotechnology & Healthcare | 1,281 | £1,158,772 |
35 | Schroder Asian Total Return | Asia Pacific | 1,231 | £1,147,541 |
36 | Henderson European Trust | Europe | 846 | £1,146,372 |
37 | The Global Smaller Companies Trust | Global Smaller Companies | 1,197 | £1,139,490 |
38 | Schroder AsiaPacific Fund | Asia Pacific | 1,441 | £1,136,585 |
39 | abrdn UK Smaller Companies Growth | UK Smaller Companies | 651 | £1,129,455 |
40 | Fidelity Asian Values | Asia Pacific Smaller Companies | 851 | £1,128,271 |
41 | Finsbury Growth & Income Trust | UK Equity Income | 857 | £1,120,297 |
42 | Bankers Investment Trust | Global | 855 | £1,103,182 |
43 | Pantheon International | Private Equity | 1,049 | £1,076,230 |
44 | Mercantile Investment Trust | UK All Companies | 1,404 | £1,076,067 |
45 | JPMorgan Emerging Markets | Global Emerging Markets | 1,414 | £1,060,871 |
46 | BlackRock World Mining Trust | Commodities & Natural Resources | 1,805 | £1,030,713 |
47 | Martin Currie Global Portfolio | Global | 726 | £1,023,417 |
48 | JPMorgan European Growth & Income | Europe | 687 | £1,016,396 |
49 | Caledonia Investments | Flexible Investment | 1,023 | £1,010,065 |
50 | Pacific Assets Trust | Asia Pacific | 884 | £1,005,609 |
“Investment trusts’ long-term approach has delivered strong performance for investors over time,” says Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director at the AIC.
“With their permanent capital structure, investment trusts can take a long-term view and are never forced sellers. This makes them particularly suitable for hard-to-sell assets like smaller companies and unquoted companies.”
Brodie highlights that investment trusts have navigated numerous crises including two world wars, the financial crisis, the dotcom boom and bust and the pandemic over more than 155 years.
She adds: “While past performance is no guarantee of future returns, the structure of investment trusts offers a compelling approach for investors seeking to build long-term wealth amidst economic uncertainty.
“Our research shows that 50 investment trusts would have returned more than £1 million for ISA savers who invested their entire allowance each year since 1999 – with four returning more than £2 million.
"I’d emphasise that it’s vital to spread your risk when investing. A diversified portfolio of investment trusts and other assets which meet your needs is the best way to succeed over the long term.”
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