10 hottest ISA shares, funds and trusts: week ended 20 December 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

As if proof were needed that it’s all about Wall Street and the USA right now, American stocks claim the top three spots in this week’s list of 10 most-bought shares in ISAs on the ii platform. It’s the first time that’s happened since we started publishing these tables, with NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) jumping two places to sit behind MicroStrategy Inc Class A (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) which are unchanged in first and second place respectively.

In a week when all the world’s major markets posted losses after the Federal Reserve scaled back rate cut expectations, MicroStrategy tumbled 10.9%, Tesla ended with a weekly loss of 3.5%, while Nvidia managed a tiny improvement, up 0.3% for the week.

All stocks remain volatile, but MicroStrategy more than most, with its shares trading as low as $317 in the past few days, their worst in over five weeks and compared with November’s peak of $543. Still, it’s that volatility and conviction in the bitcoin story that keeps investors buying the dips.

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Among the UK stocks who make the top 10, BP (LSE:BP.) is back after a one-week break, while Aviva (LSE:AV.) appears here for the first time since late October. The insurer’s takeover of Direct Line Insurance Group (LSE:DLG) has taken the wind out of its share price, but it yields over 7%, which is catnip to income seekers.

It’s been five weeks since Rio Tinto Registered Shares (LSE:RIO) last made this list. Shares are now trading at multi-month lows but yield 7%-plus. Activist investor Palliser Capital is pressuring the miner to follow BHP Group Ltd (LSE:BHP) and switch its primary listing from London to Australia. It believes the current structure has cost shareholders $50 billion in value.

And finally, M&G Ordinary Shares (LSE:MNG), the FTSE 100’s second-highest yielding stock at 10.2%, is back in the most-bought list. After falling to their lowest since October 2023, investors clearly believe the shares have dropped far enough and that this could be an opportunity to lock in a stunning yield and perhaps generate some capital gains.

Top 10 funds and trusts in ISAs

There were no changes this week at the top of the most-bought ISA funds and trusts table, with the leaderboard dominated by the same four names: L&G Global Technology Index I Acc, Royal London Short Term Money Market , Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity and Scottish Mortgage (LSE:SMT).

This happened even as global markets tumbled last week, with the FTSE 100 and the S&P 500 dropping about 2% each. The sell-off was triggered by the US central bank, which said that interest rates may not fall as much as markets expected. 

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The risers were Greencoat UK Wind (LSE:UKW) and JPMorgan Global Growth & Income Ord (LSE:JGGI), in fifth and sixth place respectively. They both have an income objective, with Greencoat generating returns from owning and operating renewable energy infrastructure and the JPMorgan trust by investing in global equities.

Fidelity Index World was unchanged in seventh place, while Vanguard US Equity Index dropped three places to eighth. These popular index funds charge just 0.12% and 0.1% to track global and US shares. Performance has been very strong due to the growth of America’s largest technology shares, making it very hard for active fund managers to outperform them.

There were two new entries in the top-10: BlackRock World Mining Trust Ord (LSE:BRWM) and Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity. Meanwhile, Alliance Witan and HSBC FTSE All World Index dropped off.

Funds and trusts section written by ii’s Sam Benstead.