10 hottest ISA shares, funds and trusts: week ended 12 April 2024
In this article, we reveal the 10 most-popular shares, funds and investment trusts added to ISAs on the interactive investor platform during the past week.
15th April 2024 13:37
by Lee Wild from interactive investor
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With the new tax year under way, 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
Company name | Place change | |
1 | Up 4 | |
2 | Down 1 | |
3 | Up 5 | |
4 | New | |
5 | Down 3 | |
6 | Unchanged | |
7 | Down 3 | |
8 | New | |
9 | New | |
10 | New |
It’s all about “firsts” in the latest top 10 list of most-bought ISA stocks. First up is Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) which, in the first week of the new tax year, makes it to the top spot for the first time this ISA season.
Lloyds shares are the most widely owned UK stock, but while they’ve been in the top 10 most weeks, they’ve only ever been as high as second place. Now, with the shares consistently above 50p for the past three weeks, buying interest has perked up. The shares dipped below 51p last week when the European Central Bank hinted heavily that rate cuts were imminent, while Lloyds also went ex-dividend on Thursday, meaning the shares now trade without the right to the final dividend of 1.84p.
Equally surprising is that it’s taken this long for BP (LSE:BP.) to appear in the top 10. Making the list for the first time in 2024 coincides with the share price hitting a five-month high as the price of oil trades within reach of $90. Analysts think rising tensions in the Middle East could even push prices back to $100 a barrel.
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BP also announced an increase in oil production ahead of its first-quarter results on 7 May, with upstream output for the three months to March expected to be higher than the final quarter of 2023.
Tesco (LSE:TSCO) is another first-timer following a volatile week in which it published annual results. Profit was up on the year before, and the supermarket chain expects adjusted operating profit for the coming year of “at least” £2.8 billion. The shares spiked above 300p, a feat achieved only rarely and briefly in the past 10 years, before pulling back a day later.
Aviva (LSE:AV.) has been absent from the top 10 for a number of weeks, but the high-yielding shares makes this list for the first time since early March. BAE Systems (LSE:BA.) is also back, up from 15th the week before. It’s not long since Barclays (LSE:BARC) upgraded its price target for the defence manufacturer to 1,450p and the company won the contract to build Australia’s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Last week, the UK Ministry of Defence awarded BAE a contract to maintain and repair gifted L119 Light Guns in Ukraine.
And finally, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)failed to make the top 10 for first time in six weeks, finishing in 14th place. We’ve talked here before about disappointing vehicle deliveries, fierce competition and demand issues. Having fallen 30% in 2024 so far, the stock price has settled into a trading range of $160-180.
Top 10 funds and trusts in ISAs
Fund name | Place change | |
1 | Unchanged | |
2 | Up 1 | |
3 | Down 1 | |
4 | Up 1 | |
5 | Up 5 | |
6 | Down 2 | |
7 | New | |
8 | New | |
9 | New | |
10 | Down 1 |
Three new global funds broke into the top ISA funds and trusts list last week, taking the total number of global strategies in the top 10 to eight.
The new entries were HSBC FTSE All-World Index C Acc (in at seventh), JPMorgan Global Growth & Income Ord (LSE:JGGI) (eighth) and Fidelity Index World P Acc (ninth).
They join trackers Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index, L&G Global Technology Index I Acc and Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity. The global active funds on the list last week were, in first place Scottish Mortgage Ord (LSE:SMT), and in second place Fundsmith Equity.
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Global funds tend to be heavily invested in American shares. For example, Fidelity Index World has 70% invested there and HSBC FTSE All World Index has around 60% in the US. Fundsmith Equity has 69% exposure and Scottish Mortgage has 55% invested there.
This is linked to the strong recent performance of US shares, particularly technology stocks that are also at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) breakthroughs.
Rounding off the most-bought list last week were Royal London Short Term Money Market, which was the biggest riser, moving up five places to fifth, and Jupiter India, up one place to fourth.
The collectives that dropped off were Greencoat UK Wind and Alliance Trust.
Funds and trusts section written by ii’s deputy collectives editor Sam Benstead.
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.
Please remember, investment value can go up or down and you could get back less than you invest. If you’re in any doubt about the suitability of a stocks & shares ISA, you should seek independent financial advice. The tax treatment of this product depends on your individual circumstances and may change in future. If you are uncertain about the tax treatment of the product you should contact HMRC or seek independent tax advice.