Top 10 most-bought investment funds: August 2024
Only two active funds made the list, as passive funds continue to gain market share.
2nd September 2024 11:09
by Sam Benstead from interactive investor
Terry Smith’s giant Fundsmith Equity dropped outside the top 10 most-bought funds in August, as performance continues to lag global markets. It was the eighth most-popular fund by number of buys in July.
The £24 billion fund has returned 7% this year, lower than the 12% gain of the MSCI World index. Over five years it trails too, returning 46% compared with 71% for its benchmark.
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One fund that is continuing to perform well, and gathering assets on the ii platform, is L&G Global Technology Index Trust, which is not only well ahead of the MSCI World index, but also its actively managed tech fund peers. It was the most-popular fund in August.
Over five years it is up 178% thanks to large positions in Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft, and it is a top-quartile technology sector performer over one, three and five years.
These are heady figures, but holding this fund could spell trouble for investors who are overexposed to technology should there be a sharp correction.
Investors continued to be drawn to passively managed funds, with Vanguard contributing five funds to August’s most-bought list.
Its LifeStrategy 80%, 100% and 60% portfolios were ranked in second, sixth and ninth place. These funds, which cost 0.22% in yearly fees, own a basket of Vanguard’s own passive funds. The funds track different regional stock and bond markets to deliver investors a balanced portfolio depending on their risk appetite. Meanwhile, its US Equity tracker was in 10th place, and its Global All Cap Index was in seventh place.
Two other tracker funds made the list: HSBC FTSE All World Index and Fidelity Index World. Both track global markets for 0.12% in yearly fees, with the HSBC fund owning more shares as it also includes emerging markets, whereas Fidelity’s option just owns companies from “developed” markets, such as Europe, Japan and the United States.
The only two active funds on the list were Royal London Short Term Money Market and Jupiter India.
Royal London’s money market fund is a cash alternative for investors. By investing in bonds maturing soon, as well as making use of bank deposit accounts, it generates a secure and stable return for investors, with a yield currently of just over 5%.
The popularity of this fund has shot up as interest rates have risen, leading to greater returns, but now that the Bank of England has begun to cut interest rates, the yield will drop.
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Jupiter India, in fifth place, is one of the top-performing funds this year, returning 25%. Investors are looking to capitalise on India’s fast-growing economy and business-friendly government.
The fund holds low-cost airline InterGlobe Aviation, telecoms firm Bharti Airtel, and tech firm HCL Technologies among its top 10 holdings. It has a yearly ongoing charges figure of 0.99% and about £1.5 billion in assets.
Top 10 most-popular investment funds in August 2024
| Position | Fund | Change on last month | One-year return (%) | Three-year return (%) |
| 1 | L&G Global Technology Index Trust | No change | 47.3 | 47.3 |
| 2 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | No change | 14.9 | 40.8 |
| 3 | Royal London Short Term Money Market | No change | 5.5 | 10 |
| 4 | HSBC FTSE All World Index | Up one | 18.2 | 24.8 |
| 5 | Jupiter India | Down one | 48.8 | 90.7 |
| 6 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity | Up one | 18.3 | 23.7 |
| 7 | Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index | Up two | 18.40 | 22.3 |
| 8 | Fidelity Index World | Down two | 19.6 | 28.5 |
| 9 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Up one | 13.5 | 6.8 |
| 10 | Vanguard US Equity Index | New entry | 21.7 | 29.7 |
Source: interactive investor. Performance data to 29 August 2024. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of August.
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.