Revealed: The funds most recommended by investment platforms

We take a closer look at the funds that are most frequently recommended by nine leading investment platforms

For beginner investors especially, the choice of funds can be overwhelming. Should you be investing in the UK or further afield? In emerging markets or special situations?

For this reason, many investment platforms compile ‘selected funds’ lists. These will usually be curated by analysts who look at certain criteria based on the typical customers on the firm’s platform.

We have cross-referenced these lists to discover which funds are most frequently recommended.

The three most popular funds are recommended by a total of six providers each, while a further eight funds are recommended by five platforms.

It is worth pointing out that all the funds on this list are actively managed. This means a fund manager, or a team of managers, picks the stocks that go into the fund and makes changes where necessary. This tends to mean that the fees for investors — known as the ongoing charges figure or OCF — are usually higher than for a tracker fund.

Moneywise has its own list of 50 funds for beginner investors that consider cost, performance and suitability for less experienced investors.

Seven funds appear on both the Moneywise list and the frequently recommended funds list.

Remember, just because a fund is widely recommended doesn’t necessarily mean it is right for you.

Here is some more detail on the 11 funds that are recommended by more than half the platforms.

Liontrust Special Situations

Number of platform recommendations: 6/9

OCF: 0.89%

Liontrust Special Situations is managed by Anthony Cross and Julian Fosh, and aims to provide long-term capital growth by investing in FTSE All-Share companies. This means it can invest in any company listed on the UK stock market. It was the third most recommended fund when Moneywise completed this same exercise in 2019.

Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders

Number of platform recommendations: 6/9

OCF: 0.88%

This fund aims to invest in Asian companies excluding Japan, but including Australasia. Particular consideration is given to investment in companies that are positioned to benefit from, and contribute to, the sustainable development of the countries in which they operate. Most of the fund’s holdings are in large and mid-sized companies. It was the jointly most recommended fund when Moneywise compared the most recommended funds in 2019.

BlackRock Continental European Income

Number of platform recommendations: 6/9

OCF: 0.92%

The aim of the BlackRock Continental European Income Fund is to achieve an above average income from its equity investments, compared to the income yield of European equity markets (excluding the UK), without sacrificing long-term capital growth.

Artemis Global Income

Number of platform recommendations: 5/9

OCF: 0.83%

This fund is better diversified than some global equity income funds, using its full global remit to exploit income opportunities while keeping its UK content relatively low. The fund has exposure to the growth prospects of more than 25 countries.

Baillie Gifford Japanese

Number of platform recommendations: 5/9

OCF: 0.62%

Japan is a leading developed market, and this fund can be a sound choice for getting core Japanese equity exposure into your portfolio. Run by Matthew Brett, the fund seeks to identify 50 to 60 Japanese companies with potential to grow over the long term.

Barings Europe Select Trust

Number of platform recommendations: 5/9

OCF: 1.55%

Managed by Nicholas Williams, Colin Riddles and Rosemary Simmonds, this fund employs a proven process exploiting market inefficiencies and mispriced stocks. This fund is currently soft-closed to new investors.

BNY Mellon Global Income

Number of platform recommendations: 5/9

OCF: 0.8%

This fund aims to generate distributions over an annual period together with long-term capital growth from investing predominantly in global securities.

Janus Henderson Strategic Bond

Number of platform recommendations: 5/9

OCF: 0.68%

This fund aims to provide a return by investing in higher yielding assets including high yield bonds, investment grade bonds, government bonds, preference shares and other bonds. The fund may also invest in equities.

JP Morgan Emerging Markets Income

Number of platform recommendations: 5/9

OCF: 0.9%

Its goal is to achieve income by investing mainly in equity and equity-linked securities of emerging markets’ firms in any economic sector but long-term capital growth is still important.

Man GLG Japan Core Alpha

Number of platform recommendations: 5/9

OCF: 0.90%

This fund aims to achieve capital growth through investing in quoted securities of companies operating in Japan. The fund is predominantly invested in securities of companies listed on Japanese stock markets.

TM Crux European Special Situations

Number of platform recommendations: 5/9

OCF: 0.86%

This fund aims to back around 60 of the best stock ideas in Europe (excluding the UK). It seeks out companies with strategies that have a high barrier to entry, are not highly capital intensive, have quality managers and are attractively priced.