10 hottest ISA shares, funds and trusts: week ended 26 January 2024
In this new series of articles, we reveal the 10 most-popular shares, funds and investment trusts added to ISAs on the interactive investor platform during the past week.
29th January 2024 11:32
by Lee Wild from interactive investor
With ISA season under way and tax year-end fast approaching, 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
Company name | Place change | |
1 | New | |
2 | Down 1 | |
3 | New | |
4 | Down 2 | |
5 | Down 1 | |
6 | New | |
7 | New | |
8 | New | |
9 | New | |
10 | Down 7 |
As US results season gathers pace and Wall Street keeps making new highs, investors have been buying fewer big UK stocks in their ISAs over the past week. Instead, they’ve been filling up on three of America’s star tech companies, which make the most-bought list for the first time in 2024.
Both semiconductor giant Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) and computer games chip firm NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) traded at a record high last week. Interest rates are still expected to fall this year, which is a boost to growth stocks, and artificial intelligence (AI) remains the theme that everyone wants exposure to.
Popular AI stock Nvidia broke above $600 for the first time and has now tripled in value in the past year, while AMD, whose new chips can run AI software faster than other manufacturers, topped $185 and is now up 135% in just 12 months. AMD publishes fourth-quarter and annual results tomorrow (30 January).
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s Elon Musk said last week he would be spending heavily on AMD’s new chips, but it was the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s disappointing Q4 results that grabbed headlines. Concerns about demand and the impact of price cuts have plagued the stock this year and explain the 13% slump in share price on results day, taking the loss in 2024 so far to 26%.
A warning that sales growth may slow this year and a worse-than-expected 40% slump in adjusted earnings caused the trouble. It meant Tesla made its first decline in annual profit since 2017. Investors are betting that a new lower-cost model and recovery in demand elsewhere make Tesla shares good value at current prices.
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Back in the UK, three small-caps were on the buy list.
Bombed-out Helium One Global (LSE:HE1) quickly tripled in value from 0.19p to 0.63p, after the helium explorer in Tanzania gave an update on drilling of the Itumbula West-1 well.
Chief executive Lorna Blaisse said: “The initial results from the Itumbula West-1 well are very positive. We have encountered elevated helium shows, as the team had anticipated pre-drill, all the way to basement. The wireline logs are the crucial next step in identifying which intervals we will test and sample for further evaluation.”
There was nothing immediately obvious to explain the 50% jump in Ethernity Networks Ltd Registered Shs (LSE:ENET) shares in the first half of the week, and by the close on Friday they were back where they started.
But there was news at Ceres Power Holdings (LSE:CWR), the once-popular green energy company, which on Wednesday issued a trading update for 2023. Optimistic investors chased the shares 20% higher ahead of the release, but it was a case of buy the rumour, sell the fact, and Ceres shares fell sharply. The company warned that royalties from its fuel cell systems would be delayed, while a planned joint venture with China’s Weichai is unlikely to complete in its current form. Full-year results will be announced on 20 March.
Top 10 funds and trusts in ISAs
Fund name | Place change | |
1 | Up 1 | |
2 | Down 1 | |
3 | Unchanged | |
4 | Up 2 | |
5 | New | |
6 | New | |
7 | Down 3 | |
8 | New | |
9 | Down 1 | |
10 | Down 5 |
Fund and investment trust investors have been increasing their exposure to technology shares in the past week, in the hope that advancements in AI continue to be a key theme for stock markets.
L&G Global Technology Index Trust takes the top spot this week, while Allianz Technology Trust Ord (LSE:ATT) is a new entrant in fifth place.
The former, as noted last week, holds five of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks, with the two exceptions being Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Tesla. Its two big bets are Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), both having individual weightings of 18%.
Allianz Technology owns six of the seven American tech giants in its top 10 holdings, asides from Tesla. As well as AI, another key sector for the investment trust is cyber security.
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Other tech-heavy trusts in the top 10 are Scottish Mortgage Ord (LSE:SMT) and Edinburgh Worldwide Ord (LSE:EWI). The latter has recently attracted the attention of our columnist Ian Cowie, who was particularly taken by its top holding – SpaceX.
The other new addition to the top 10, having lost its place last week, is Fundsmith Equity I Acc, managed by star investor Terry Smith.
Exiting the table this week are Greencoat UK Wind (LSE:UKW), Pershing Square Holdings Ord GBP (LSE:PSH) and Alliance Trust Ord (LSE:ATST).
Funds and trusts section written by ii’s collectives editor Kyle Caldwell.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.
Please remember, investment value can go up or down and you could get back less than you invest. If you’re in any doubt about the suitability of a stocks & shares ISA, you should seek independent financial advice. The tax treatment of this product depends on your individual circumstances and may change in future. If you are uncertain about the tax treatment of the product you should contact HMRC or seek independent tax advice.