Tom Stevenson's fund picks for 2026: MoneyWeek Talks

(Image credit: Future)

Which funds should you consider putting your money into this year? Fidelity's Tom Stevenson reveals his top three picks for 2026 to put in your ISA or self-invested personal pension (Sipp).

In this episode of MoneyWeek Talks, he tells Kalpana Fitzpatrick why he recommends these funds and how you can work out what's right for you.

MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Tom Stevenson's top funds for 2026

Coming up with fund recommendations following three strong years for the stock market is challenging, Stevenson told MoneyWeek.

This is especially the case because you don’t want to catch the top of the market and recommend people buy funds just as the market turns for the worse.

That means looking outside the more traditional places is more important.

Stevenson explained: “We saw that the US stock market, which had led markets higher for many years, started to fall behind a bit last year, and other markets picked up the baton.

“We saw strong performances from European shares, but also from emerging markets, and the UK market which also did well last year – that was the context in which I was thinking about which funds to recommend this year.”

The investing trends seen in 2025 are expected to continue into the year ahead, Stevenson said. He anticipates more investors will look to diversify their holdings out of the US, which has been a strong market but also an increasingly expensive one.

Stevenson predicts investors will instead start to put more money into other markets around the world that may provide better value – ones that are cheaper, but still have good growth prospects.

Dodge and Cox Worldwide: Global Stock Fund

Stevenson’s first pick capitalises on his prediction that more investors will diversify their holdings out of the US.

He chose the Dodge and Cox Worldwide: Global Stock Fund as, unlike other global funds which have a very high exposure (around 70%) to the US, this one is much less exposed – US stocks only account for around 50% of it.

He told MoneyWeek: “Given what I said about this rotation out of the US continuing this year, that's one of the reasons why I like this fund. And it's also got a bit of an emphasis away from the types of shares which have done really well, specifically the sort of technology and AI stocks which have driven very high valuations in the US.

“[The fund] actually invests in other sectors. It's got a very wide range of companies all around the world, from Taiwan to the UK to Europe, as well as some in America. That's my number one pick.”

Fidelity Special Situations

Stevenson’s second pick is Fidelity’s Special Situations fund, which is mostly focused on UK stocks.

Why invest in a UK fund? Stevenson said it’s because the UK market is undervalued – and very different from the US.

He said, unlike the tech-focused US, the UK is “more in sectors like pharmaceuticals, banking, mining – quite old economy sectors, if you like, which have actually started to do quite well.”

“And the main attraction of the UK, for me, is that it's very cheap compared to the US. So as investors are moving out of the US and looking for other opportunities, then they're going for markets like the UK, which is, which is really, really cheap – I think the Fidelity Special Situations Fund is a really good way of accessing that.”

Lazard Emerging Markets Fund

Even though emerging markets have underperformed the American market, Stevenson believes they could make a comeback in 2026.

“We've seen in the past that you get long periods in which either the US does well or the rest of the world does well. We've had a really long period in which America has outperformed, and I think we're now getting to a stage where that rotation is happening and emerging markets look attractive.”

Stevenson added that there are more good, long-term reasons to invest in emerging markets too. He said they tend to have higher growth rates, and young and growing populations.

Furthermore, emerging markets tend to be most attractive when the US dollar falls back. As interest rates come down in America, Stevenson thinks “the dollar is likely to continue to fall, and so we think that's a good backdrop for emerging markets”.

The fund picked to capitalise on this is the Lazard Emerging Markets Fund, which Stevenson says has a good track record of investing in these markets.

About the podcast

MoneyWeek Talks is a podcast that helps you unlock the secrets to financial success. Editors Kalpana Fitzpatrick and Andrew van Sickle are joined by influential guests – from CEOs and entrepreneurs to economists and policymakers – to share their top tips on managing money, investing wisely and building wealth.

Subscribe to the MoneyWeek Talks podcast and get ready to make it, keep it and spend it with confidence.

Explore More

Kalpana is an award-winning journalist with extensive experience in financial journalism. She is also the author of Invest Now: The Simple Guide to Boosting Your Finances (Heligo) and children's money book Get to Know Money (DK Books).

Her work includes writing for a number of media outlets, from national papers, magazines to books.

She has written for national papers and well-known women’s lifestyle and luxury titles. She was finance editor for Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Red and Prima.

She started her career at the Financial Times group, covering pensions and investments.

As a money expert, Kalpana is a regular guest on TV and radio – appearances include BBC One’s Morning Live, ITV’s Eat Well, Save Well, Sky News and more. She was also the resident money expert for the BBC Money 101 podcast .

Kalpana writes a monthly money column for Ideal Home and a weekly one for Woman magazine, alongside a monthly 'Ask Kalpana' column for Woman magazine.

Kalpana also often speaks at events. She is passionate about helping people be better with their money; her particular passion is to educate more people about getting started with investing the right way and promoting financial education.