Terry Smith’s (pictured) Fundsmith Equity retained its place as Interactive Investor’s (II’s) most-bought fund in June, according to the firm, which also saw Royal London Short Term Money Market jumping from third to second place during the month.
While the money market sector has received increased interest across the piste recently due to its protection against rising interest rates, tech was the key focus among trust investors in June, with Polar Capital Technology and Allianz Technology returning to the list of top 10 most-bought trusts on II’s platform.
In terms of direct equities, chipmaker Nvidia was the eighth-most bought across the month while Tesla was third. Artificial intelligence has been thrust into the spotlight in recent months as ChatGPT continues to garner interest.
Kyle Caldwell, Collectives Specialist, interactive investor, said: “It’s just as interesting to see which funds move down the rankings as well as those on the up. Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity has departed, having consistently featured in the top 10 most-bought funds over the past couple of years.
“There’s been plenty of debate over whether the 60/40 approach will work as well in the future as it has done in the past. It appears that some investors have lost faith, although this index fund does sit just outside of our top 10, so it still has plenty of appeal.”
Interactive Investor June platform purchases
| Fund | Investment trust | Equity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FUNDSMITH EQUITY | SCOTTISH MORTGAGE | LLOYDS BANKING |
| 2 | ROYAL LONDON SHORT TERM MONEY MARKET | CITY OF LONDON | VODAFONE GROUP |
| 3 | VANGUARD LIFESTRATEGY 30% EQUITY | GREENCOAT UK WIND | TESLA |
| 4 | LEGAL & GENERAL GLOBAL TECH | POLAR CAPITAL TECH | LEGAL & GENERAL |
| 5 | VANGUARD LIFESTRATEGY 100% EQUITY | BLACKROCK WORLD MINING | GLENCORE |
| 6 | VANGUARD US EQUITY INDEX | F&C INVESTMENT TRUST | ASOS |
| 7 | VANGUARD FTSE GLOBAL ALL CAP INDEX | ALLIANZ TECHNOLOGY | AVIVA |
| 8 | FIDELITY INDEX WORLD | ALLIANCE TRUST | NVIDIA CORP |
| 9 | LEGAL & GENERAL GLOBAL 100 INDEX | 3I GROUP | PREMIER AFRICAN MI |
| 10 | VANGUARD FTSE DEVELOPED WORLD INDEX | MERCHANTS TRUST | BP |
Commenting on the most bought direct equities, II head of investments Victoria Scholar, added: “Many investors are sticking to those FTSE 100 blue chip names, which continue to dominate the most popular list of stocks on the II platform in June. These include well-known UK names such as Lloyds, Vodafone, BP, and Glencore, which seem to be key mainstays of many II customer portfolios.
“But overseas VC giant, Tesla, has also caught investor’s eyes. The stock has long been a firm favourite among ii investors and its had a fantastic year, so far. We’ve seen Tesla’s shares surge more than 100% in the first half, making it a top performer stateside, bouncing back after the sharp sell-off across mega-cap tech last year. It is a company that often dominates the headlines and its impressive share price performance this year has added to its allure.
She added: “But who left the list? Rolls Royce dropped out of II’s best buys in June. Perhaps as investors take stock after its impressively bullish run. Over the past six months, the engine maker has been the best performing stock on the FTSE 100, surging over 60%. In May, CEO Tufan Erginbilgic who took over in January, said its turnaround was moving at pace and reiterated the company’s full-year guidance.”
