Most popular Sipp investments

Building your own pension by investing into a self-invested personal pension (Sipp) lets you pick the investments that could fund your retirement.

Anyone in employment will be automatically enrolled onto a workplace pension scheme, and for many, these do the job perfectly well.

Sipps – DIY pot for life pensions – are increasing in popularity, though. Hargreaves Lansdown saw the record level of contributions into its Sipp products this year on 4 April, just before the end of the tax year, with contributions totalling 2.9% above the previous record.

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“At a time when taxes are rising and thresholds are frozen, people are opting to make the most of their money by contributing to a Sipp with tax relief available at your marginal rate,” says Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown.

While deciding between a workplace pension or a Sipp will often come down to you as an individual, they’re a particularly popular choice for the self-employed, who won’t be automatically enrolled onto a workplace pension scheme – and for those who simply want to take a more active role in managing their pension.

Three Sipp providers have recently published data on the most popular investments into their Sipps. If you’re considering opening your own Sipp, these could give you some ideas and starting points as to the stocks, funds and trusts you might want to add.

The most popular Sipp investments with Interactive Investor

According to data from Interactive Investor, investment trusts are falling in popularity among Sipp investors.

Trusts accounted for 21% of Interactive Investor holdings in accumulating Sipps in Q1 2022, but by Q2 2025 they account for just 13%. For those Sipps in drawdown, the proportion of assets invested in investment trusts fell from approximately 28% to 20% over the same period.

The biggest increase over the same period has been in exchange-traded products, effectively ETFs. Sipp investments in these products increased by 2% in accumulating Sipps between Q1 2024 and Q2 2025.

“Appetite for investment trusts has waned in recent years, and our data illustrates this is the case for investors across the board,” says Craig Rickman, pensions expert at Interactive Investor. “By contrast, allocations to ETFs have surged with Sipp investors wooed by their simplicity and low costs.”

These were the most popular Sipp investments during Q1 2025 on the Interactive Investor platform:

^{Source: Interactive Investor SIPP Index Q1 2025}

The most popular Sipp investments with Fidelity

The three most popular funds among Fidelity Sipp investors in April were all cash funds, reflecting concerns over which way the economic wind is blowing.

April saw sky-high tariffs and trade wars from the US rock stock markets around the world.

Ed Monk, associate director at Fidelity International, says: “Sipp investors continue to prioritise stability with funds like the Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund and Legal & General Cash Trust holding prominent positions.

“These cash and money market funds are sought after in times of uncertainty due to their ability to preserve capital and offer liquidity."

Fidelity published research showing that 41% of investors now describe their outlook on the market as ‘pessimistic’, up from 24% in February.

GCP Infrastructure Investments and International Public Partnerships, both infrastructure trusts, were the two most popular investment trusts with Fidelity’s Sipp customers, highlighting this cautious attitude.

“The popularity of cash funds and infrastructure trusts shows a clear preference for defensive strategies in uncertain markets,” says Monk.

Likewise that old favourite in troubled times, gold. Gold’s performance in 2025 underscores its value as a safe haven, with the Ninety-One Global Gold Fund climbing into the top holdings among Sipp investors in April.

“The growing interest in gold reflects the broader trend of investors looking for assets that can provide both safety and long-term value,” Monk says.

The data showed that there is still an appetite for selective growth exposure, though.

“We’re seeing selective interest in growth sectors, with funds like the Fidelity Index World Fund and Allianz Technology Trust attracting attention, showing that there’s still room for optimism in certain areas of the market,” says Monk.

^{Source: Fidelity International Personal Investing Platform Net Sipp sales 01.04.25-29.04.25}

The most popular Sipp investments with Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown published data on the most-bought shares and funds in its Sipp on 4 April, the day that the products reached their peak contributions.

^{Source: Hargreaves Lansdown}

Accompanying these results, Morrisey said “market volatility is always worrying but it’s important to take a long-term view of your pension.

“Taking knee-jerk reactions, such as stopping contributions, or changing investment strategy can mean you crystallise a loss and this makes it harder for your pension to recover when markets do settle down. It’s good to see investors keeping a calm head and carrying on.”

Other fund ideas for your Sipp

Selecting investments for your Sipp should be determined firstly by what point you are in your pension investment journey, says Emma Wall, head of platform investments at wealth firm Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Decades off retiring? You want to maximise your risk/return profile, making sure the bulk of your portfolio is in higher risk assets such as equities. These can be more volatile in price but in the accumulation stage of pension investing, you can afford a few bumps in the road,” she says.

Wall advocates blending a couple of funds together to maximise diversification. For example, investors could pair a passive, developed market-focused fund like Legal & General Future World ESG Tilted and Optimised Developed Index with an active fund focused on emerging markets, like Schroder Asian Alpha Plus.

For investors later in their Sipp journey, or retired clients using their Sipp in drawdown, an income option would be sensible.

Wall prefers Ninety One Diversified Income, which focuses on providing income mainly through investing in bonds, with a smaller part of the fund invested in shares.

“Given market volatility is likely to continue with a number of challenges facing the global economy, a total return fund such as this one could be a sensible choice,” Wall says.