Top 10 most-popular investment trusts: April 2025

Investors are focusing on both growth and income approaches, with two new entrants.

1st May 2025 14:38

Investors were sizing up both growth and income opportunities in April, a month when US stock markets made a partial recovery from the sharp falls occurring over the past couple of months.

Since US President Donald Trump pressed the pause button on the implementation of tariffs for 90 days for countries excluding China, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have risen from their lows.

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At the worst point on 8 April, the S&P 500 index had lost 20% of its value from its earlier all-time high, which was achieved on 19 February. When stock markets fall 20% or more from a recent peak, it’s known as a bear market. Meanwhile, the technology Nasdaq index lost nearly a quarter of its value from its pre-Christmas peak to its low point before Trump’s 90-day tariff pause.

While no one knows if this market recovery will be sustained, many investors are sticking to their long-term plan. As a result, eight of the top 10 most-popular investment trusts in April retained their places.

Investors are focusing on both growth and income approaches, with the two new entrants this month. Polar Capital Technology (LSE:PCT), which invests in shares that fit into technology themes it has identified, entered in seventh place. It was joined in the top 10 by peer Allianz Technology Trust (LSE:ATT) in eighth place.

Income-seeking investors have been eyeing the high yield of 11.7% offered by Henderson Far East Income (LSE:HFEL), which invests in Asia-Pacific shares, and it entered the rankings in 10th place.

Growth-focused Scottish Mortgage (LSE:SMT) retained pole position. While not a technology trust, it does have a lot of exposure to tech themes. It invests in global businesses, including up to 30% in private companies that are tapping into technological advancements. Its top holding is Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies, a private company, followed by Latin America e-commerce giant MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), the world's leading online retailer and marketplace for third-party sellers.

City of London (LSE:CTY), in second place, rose three places from last month. This “Steady Eddie” investment trust is a reliable dividend payer, having increased payouts each year since 1966. It mainly sticks to FTSE 100 companies that demonstrate good prospects for growing their profits and dividends. It is managed by veteran fund manager Job Curtis, who has been at the helm since 1991.

As the name suggests, JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (LSE:JGGI) (third) aims to deliver a mix of capital growth and income. For the latter, it makes quarterly distributions with the intention of paying dividends totalling at least 4% a year. Its top holdings include four of the Magnificent Seven technology stocks, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which has hit short-term performance numbers as Trump’s tariffs led to a sharp rise in stock market volatility.

Greencoat UK Wind (LSE:UKW), ranked fourth, is yielding 9%. As the name suggests, it invests in UK wind farms, and aims to provide investors with a yearly dividend that increases in line with RPI inflation. It has successfully achieved this each year since launch in 2013.

However, its one and three-year returns are in the red, with losses of -10.5% and -11.8%. This is because interest rate rises over the past couple of years have boosted bond yields, which has put pressure on infrastructure and property investment trusts as returns from lower-risk bonds compete with strategies that aim to generate a steady income for shareholders.

In fifth place is multi-manager strategy Alliance Witan (LSE:ALW), managed by Willis Towers Watson. A selection of external fund managers pick 20 of their best ideas and the fund is highly diversified, with around 200 holdings.

Another multi-manager strategy, F&C Investment Trust (LSE:FCIT) (sixth) mainly uses in-house managers from fund firm Columbia Threadneedle. It is overseen by Paul Niven, who decides on the asset allocation and gearing level. It is also highly diversified, with around 400 holdings.

In ninth place is 3i Group Ord (LSE:III), the private equity trust tapping into high-growth opportunities. Beware though, it trades on a very high 73% premium to its net asset value (NAV) and is very concentrated in just one company, European discount retailer Action. Its position in Action has been very successful, which has led to strong returns over both one and three years, up 48.6% and 246%.

JPMorgan European Growth & Income (LSE:JEGI) and Renewables Infrastructure Group (LSE:TRIG) dropped out of the top 10 in April.

Top 10 most-popular investment trusts in April 2025

Ranking	Investment trust	Change from March	One-year return to 30 April 2025 (%)	Three-year return to 30 April 2025 (%)
1	Scottish Mortgage	No change	8.1	0.7
2	City of London	Up three	18.1	27.7
3	JPMorgan Global Growth & Income	No change	-4.7	22.8
4	Greencoat UK Wind	Down two	-10.5	-11.8
5	Alliance Witan	Down one	-5.3	25.4
6	F&C Investment Trust	No change	6.1	29.3
7	Polar Capital Technology	New entry	-0.7	42.2
8	Allianz Technology	Down one	2.3	39.6
9	3i Group	No change	48.6	246
10	Henderson Far East Income	New entry	-2.2	-9.7

Performance data sourced from FE Analytics. Performance data to 30 April 2025. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of April. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

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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