Top 10 most-popular investment trusts: November 2022

Just two investment trusts have kept their places in the top 10 since the start of 2022. 

Once again there were plenty of changes to our top 10 most-bought investment trust table, with four new entries in November.

Just two trusts have remained in the top 10 throughout the year: Scottish Mortgage (LSE:SMT) and City of London (LSE:CTY).

Scottish Mortgage, the FTSE 100 member, which invests in businesses aiming to deliver high growth in the years to come, retains first place. It has consistently occupied the top spot since June 2019, with its short-term performance woes not denting its popularity.

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In a recent update to investors, Scottish Mortgage’s fund managers Tom Slater and Lawrence Burns moved to address concerns about the recent bout of poor performance, which has seen the trust lose nearly 50% over the past year.

The other trust that’s been in the top 10 all year is City of London (LSE:CTY), which predominately invests in FTSE 100 listed dividend-paying companies. The trust, which has been managed by Job Curtis since 1991, has comfortably outpaced its average rival over the past year, up 12% versus a small loss of 1.4% for the UK equity income sector.

The trust has the longest dividend track record among investment trusts and has raised its dividend for 56 consecutive years. City of London offers a high dividend yield today, of 4.9%.

Of the four investment trusts that have retained their places in the top 10, most have made frequent appearances throughout 2022.

Third in the ranking is F&C Investment Trust (LSE:FCIT). The trust entered the top 10 in August, shortly before it won promotion to the FTSE 100.

F&C is a global multi-manager trust that offers a one-stop shop for investing. It is managed in a conservative manner, reflected in the portfolio being highly diversified, with around 400 holdings. This diversification, and the fact that it is a consistent income payer, having increased dividends for 51 consecutive years, makes the trust a potential core holding for investors.

Fourth in the ranking is Greencoat UK Wind (LSE:UKW), which as the name suggests invests in wind farms throughout the UK. It entered the top 10 in March. It has a high yield, of 5.2%, which has attracted investors. Another key lure, given a backdrop of high inflation, is that the trust aims to provide investors with an annual dividend that increases in line with RPI inflation. 

In seventh place is Alliance Trust (LSE:ATST), which in common with F&C also adopts a global multi-manager strategy. It has featured in our top 10 a couple of times – in May and October. The trust is a “dividend hero”, having increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years. Its dividend yield is 2.5%.

In eighth place is the cautiously managed Ruffer Investment Company (LSE:RICA). It has regularly been in our top 10 this year, but slipped out in September before returning last month. The trust, managed by Duncan MacInnes, has just 14% in shares, a record low for the trust. Its defensive stance and ability to make money during challenging times has paid off in 2022, and it is up 7% year-to-date. It has outperformed its three main competitors, Capital Gearing (LSE:CGT), Personal Assets (LSE:PNL) and RIT Capital Partners (LSE:RCP), which have lost 2.6%, 3.8%, and 18.7% respectively since the start of the year.

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Moving on to the four new entries, this month BlackRock World Mining Trust (LSE:BRWM) entered in fifth place. The trust, managed by Evy Hambro, has been in and out of the top 10 this year. Investors who bought it a year ago are sitting on returns of 34.7%. Commodities are viewed as a hedge against inflation, which is one of the reasons behind the strong performance this year.

in sixth place is VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunities (LSE:VOF). This trust, which launched in 2003, invests in both listed and unlisted stocks. It currently has 16 core holdings in its listed portfolio. Over the past year, the trust is down 14.4%, but long-term investors won’t have any complaints with returns of 369% over 10 years.

In ninth place is Polar Capital Technology (LSE:PCT). The last time it appeared in the top 10 was in May. Alongside other tech-focused trusts, including Scottish Mortgage, Polar Capital Technology has seen its short-term performance come off the boil in 2022 on the back of rising inflation and interest rate rises. Both have had the effect of devaluing the lofty valuations and lowering the share prices of growth companies, including technology firms. 

The final new entrant, which has not appeared in the top 10 this year until now, is NewRiver REIT (LSE:NRR). This real estate investment trust invests in, manages and develops retail and leisure properties.

Exiting the top 10 this month were Renewables Infrastructure Group (LSE:TRIG), Primary Health Properties (LSE:PHP), Henderson Far East Income (LSE:HFEL), and JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (LSE:JGGI).

Top 10 most-popular investment trusts: November 2022 

Source: interactive investor. Performance figures: FE fundinfo. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of November.