10 hottest ISA shares, funds and trusts: week ended 8 November 2024

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

Less than a week after our own historic Budget announcement on 30 October, investors had to consider the implications of a surprisingly overwhelming US election victory for Donald Trump.

Wall Street reacted positively to the result, extending gains for the major indices to record highs, but initial gains for many UK stocks including banks, defence and infrastructure, quickly evaporated.

And some significant losses gave UK focused investors the chance to pick up shares at multi-month, or even multi-year lows. As a result, half this week’s 10 most-bought stocks are new entries.

John Wood Group (LSE:WG.) has only been in this list once before, back in mid-August. But one of the most spectacular crashes in a long while had a lot of investors betting that the sell-off was overdone.

With two takeover approaches for the energy industry engineer and consultant failing to result in a deal, management was focused on turning the business around.

However, investors were shocked to hear on Thursday that Deloitte was conducting an independent audit review of the company’s accounts. It will focus on reported positions on contracts in projects, accounting, governance and controls, including whether prior years might need restating.

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Shares plummeted to a record low of 46p. They were worth over 900p in 2017 and more than 200p at the beginning of August. While a highly risky trade, some buyers could have made a quick profit given the shares bounced on Friday to just over 60p briefly. However, they still end the week down 54%.

Another bad week for AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) generated interest in the drug giant’s shares. Its first time in the top 10 most bought since the end of September followed a 10% drop in price last week. The shares are now down as much as 28% in just a couple of months.

It’s emerged that the president of Astra’s Chinese operations has been detained by authorities there, while other staff are being quizzed as part of a fraud investigation. Chinese officials are looking into allegations of falsifying genetic tests, breaching data privacy laws and illegal importation of cancer drugs from Hong Kong. In 2014, a bribery scandal cost GSK $500 million.

“As a matter of policy, we do not comment on speculative media reports including those related to ongoing investigations in China,” said Astra in a statement. “If requested, we will fully cooperate with the Chinese authorities.”

Persimmon (LSE:PSN) is in at number 6, up from 15th the previous week. The housebuilder’s first appearance in the top 10 follows a sharp drop in share price in reaction to its third-quarter update.

While investors welcomed rising customer demand and robust selling prices, there is concern about comments that build cost inflation has begun to emerge in price negotiations for 2025. National insurance changes made in the recent Budget and new building regulations will also be expensive.

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After a week’s break, Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.) is back in the most-bought list, but it’s Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) that’s really made headlines following Trump’s election victory.

The past couple of years haven’t been straightforward for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle (EV) business, as consumer mass adoption is slower than hoped and amid fierce competition from Chinese EVs. But Musk has built up a close relationship with Trump and expected to play a role in the new administration. This is raising hope among investors that the next four years could be much better for Tesla.

Tesla shares are back above $300 for the first time in over two years and less than $100 from their high made this time in 2021.

Top 10 funds and trusts in ISAs

L&G Global Technology Index I Acc (B0CNH16) is back in pole position, moving up one place. The fund, which tracks “the performance of those companies in the FTSE World Index which are engaged in Information Technology activities”, has delivered strong returns over the short term and long term. One thing to bear in mind is that it is highly concentrated, with Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia, accounting for around 45% of its assets.

In second, having climbed one place, is Greencoat UK Wind (LSE:UKW). It aims to provide investors with a yearly dividend that increases in line with RPI inflation. This has successfully been achieved each year since the trust launched in 2013. Its dividend yield currently stands at 7.6%.

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Slipping to third from first is Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity A Acc (B4PQW15).  It is joined in the top 10 by another fund from the same range, Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity A Acc (B41XG30), which remains in ninth. Both are highly diversified ways to ‘own the market’ for a low annual fee of just 0.22%. 

In fourth is a new entry – Vanguard U.S. Eq Idx £ Acc (B5B71Q7) – which offers investors exposure to US large, mid, and small-sized company shares. It tracks the up and down fortunes of over 3,500 shares, but around 27% is in the so-called Magnificent Seven technology giants: Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Tesla.

The second new entry, in tenth, is HSBC FTSE All-World Index C Acc (BMJJJF9). It tracks shares listed on the FTSE All-World Index, which includes emerging markets.

The rest of the top 10 is Royal London Short Term Money Mkt Y Acc (B8XYYQ8) in fifth place, Fidelity Index World P Acc (BJS8SJ3) in sixth, Scottish Mortgage Ord (LSE:SMT) in seventh, and JPMorgan Global Growth & Income Ord (LSE:JGGI) in eighth.

Two actively-managed funds dropped out of the top 10 this week: City of London Ord (LSE:CTY) and Jupiter India I Acc (B4TZHH9.

Funds and trusts section written by ii’s Kyle Caldwell.