Top 10 most-bought investment funds in June 2024

A new number one fund for the top 10 ranking, as Fundsmith Equity heads lower.

1st July 2024 15:56

Technology funds have been the star performers year to date, with passive tracker L&G Global Technology Index Trust, for example, having risen 27.9% (to 20 June). This rise can partly be explained by the clamour for semiconductor chips powering artificial intelligence (AI), and the excitement over the potential application of AI.

It’s no wonder, then, that the L&G fund has leapfrogged into first place in our top 10 ranking of the most-popular investment funds, according to the number of “buys” among our customers in June.

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The global fund (with a yearly ongoing charges figure of 0.32%) boasts three-year and five-year total return figures of 68% and 203% respectively. However, specialist writer Cherry Reynard asks in a recent feature whether investors are buying into the tech theme too late in the day, and signposts better value opportunities elsewhere in North America.

The L&G fund’s ascendancy nudges Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity down one place into second. Sister funds LifeStrategy 100% Equity is up one place to seventh, and LifeStrategy 60% Equity is up one place to ninth. These LifeStrategy funds are popular “core” fund choices for portfolios and their low cost and diversification benefits appeal to beginners and sophisticated investors alike.

Jupiter India has risen one place to third in our table. The adventurous fund, with an OCF of 0.99% for the Jupiter I Acc share class, has returned 94.7% over three years, and 118% over five years.

The fund, which launched in 2008, is one of 2024’s best performers, according to specialist writer Douglas Chadwick, with a year-to-date return (to 20 June) of 22%. Despite some post-election volatility, discussed by Chadwick who wrote about the fund “losing 9.46% in one day”, interactive investor customers appear unfazed.

Our funds and education editor Kyle Caldwell reported on ii customers’ appetite for India, with the country being the most-popular emerging market investment destination, and ii “trading volumes (by value) into India-centric funds, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds having risen 21-fold over the past year alone”.

Meanwhile, Fundsmith Equity has slipped from fifth to sixth place from last month. The performance of the global equity fund, overseen by star fund manager Terry Smith, has taken a hit over the short term (it has underperformed its benchmark over the past three years), although its long-term performance has delivered good returns for investors.

Fundsmith Equity was recently the subject of an On the Money podcast, alongside Scottish Mortgage (LSE:SMT) and WS Lindsell Train UK Equity, which questioned when and whether the three funds could return to form.

Royal London Short Term Money Market, yielding 5%, fell two places to fourth. It is considered something of a “Steady Eddie” performance wise, which may appeal to investors seeking a haven amid potential UK election volatility.

The yield on low-risk money market funds is correlated with interest rates. In its June meeting, the Bank of England’s held the base rate at 5.25%. However, when the central bank does start to lower interest rates, the return on money market funds will also fall.

Three global index funds comprise the rest of the top 10, namely HSBC FTSE All-World Index, Fidelity Index World, and Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index.

As my colleague Sam Benstead has observed before, it’s worth drilling down into these global funds to see exactly what you are buying.

For example, the HSBC “All World” tracker (covering 3,530 stocks) has some allocation to emerging markets, but the Fidelity Index World fund (1,467 equity holdings) is 99.86% invested in firms in developed markets. Both funds have a low OCF of 0.12%.

For 0.23%, the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index fund offers you exposure to 7,134 stocks, with 9.6% held in emerging markets.

Top 10 most-popular investment funds in June 2024

Rank	Fund	IA sector	Ranking change since previous month	One-year return (%)	Three-year return (%)
1	L&G Global Technology Index	Technology	Up two	45.2%	68%
2	Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity	Mixed investment 40%-85% shares	Down one	14.9%	16.2%
3	Jupiter India	India/Indian Subcontinent	Up one	52.9%	94.7%
4	Royal London Short Term Money Market	Short Term Money Market	Down two	5.45%	9%
5	HSBC FTSE All-World Index	Global	Up one	20.7%	28.8%
6	Fundsmith Equity	Global	Down one	13.3%	14.4%
7	Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity	Global	Up one	18.1%	25.7%
8	Fidelity Index World	Global	Down one	21.8%	34.4%
9	Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity	Mixed investment 40%-85% shares	Up one	11.8%	7.4%
10	Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index	Global	Down one	19%	24.7%

Source: interactive investor. Performance data to 1 July 2024. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of June.

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.

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