10 hottest ISA shares, funds and trusts: week ended 1 November 2024

We look at the investments ii customers have been buying within their ISAs during the previous week. The data includes only real-time trades, not regular investing instructions, and combines the use of both existing funds and new money.

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Top 10 shares in ISAs

BP (LSE:BP.) raced back to the top of the most-bought list again, gaining eight places after losing its crown the week before.

Weak third-quarter results and a more settled oil market offered no support for BP over the week, with the oil major’s share price stuck firmly below 400p.

Q3 adjusted profit of $2.26 billion was down from $2.75 billion in the prior quarter. It was better than expected, but still the weakest quarterly earnings since the end of 2020.

Bargain hunting on BP’s price dip knocked Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) down to second place. Shares in the high street lender spent the week trading sideways, a hangover from the previous week’s battering. That was despite the banking sector avoiding any further taxes in Wednesday’s Budget.

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Among the week’s new entries is Phoenix Group Holdings (LSE:PHNX), in at number seven. Its share price fell to its lowest in over four months last week, but ticked higher Friday as investors locked in that 10%-plus dividend yield.

Bitcoin play MicroStrategy Inc Class A (NASDAQ:MSTR) is also back among the most bought having slipped out of the top 10 to thirteenth the week before. The owner of more bitcoin than any other public company hit a record high last Tuesday, just as the cryptocurrency made its own attempt at a new best.

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) hasn’t been in the most-bought list since the end of April, but it’s snuck in a number 10. A poorly received set of first-quarter results dropped the shares from a six-week high to a seven-week low, sparking interest in the tech giant at lower levels.

While quarterly sales beat forecasts, company expectations for the second quarter were less than Wall Street had wanted. Heavy spending on datacentres and AI is also a worry. Investors are desperate to see some payback on the billions spent on this growth area.

There was no place in the top 10 for investor favourites NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.), down from sixth and seventh respectively the previous week.

Top 10 funds and trusts in ISAs

Multi-asset fund Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity A Acc (B4PQW15) remains in pole position. It’s joined in the top 10 by another fund from the Vanguard stable, the Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity A Acc (B41XG30) option, which is a re-entry in ninth place. Both highly diversified passive funds can be owned for an annual fee of just 0.22% and offer investors exposure to thousands of companies around the globe.

Another popular passive global fund is Fidelity Index World P Acc (BJS8SJ3), in sixth place. It’s worth noting that although this fund has “World” in its title, it concentrates solely on developed markets, such as Japan, the US, and Europe, rather than emerging ones.

L&G Global Technology Index I Acc (B0CNH16) has risen two places to the second spot. While it has delivered eye-popping performance this year, its pure-play nature and weighting to mega-caps Nvidia, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft, means it leaves investors who are insufficiently diversified vulnerable to any significant tech correction.

Renewable energy infrastructure-focused Greencoat UK Wind (LSE:UKW) aims to generate an annual dividend that rises in line with RPI inflation. The investment trust, in third place, has achieved this each year since inception in 2013. The dividend yield is an eye-catching 8%.

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Royal London Short Term Money Mkt Y Acc (B8XYYQ8) fund (fourth place) is a type of low-risk fund that’s been around for 50 years, with investor interest exploding over the past few years amid interest rate rises. This is owing to that fact that the return on this fund is closely linked to the Bank of England base rate. This fund can be held in both an ISA and a SIPP.

Income investor favourite City of London Ord (LSE:CTY) has jumped five places to fifth. Overseen by the highly experienced Job Curtis, who has been at the helm since 1991, this trust is a “dividend hero” and has raised investor payouts for 58 consecutive years.

Jupiter India I Acc (B4TZHH9), in eighth place, remains popular among investors, and the country and funds offering exposure to the world’s biggest democracy, has been a subject of debate on ii Community, interactive investor’s new app, as well as ii columnist Ian Cowie.

Scottish Mortgage Ord (LSE:SMT), whose growth-style bias has suffered over the short term amid rising interest rates, is a new entry this week. The investment trust, which is one of interactive investor’s Super 60 investment ideas, can invest up to 30% in private companies. The other new entry is JPMorgan Global Growth & Income Ord (LSE:JGGI), a “global best ideas portfolio”.

Funds and trusts section written by ii’s Nina Kelly.