10 hottest ISA shares, funds and trusts: week ended 17 October 2025

We reveal the 10 most-popular shares, funds and investment trusts added to ISAs on the interactive investor platform during the past week.

20th October 2025 13:54

by Lee Wild from interactive investor

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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.

Top 10 shares in ISAs

Company Name

Place change 

1

Legal & General Group (LSE:LGEN)

Up 2

2

BP (LSE:BP.)

Up 7

3

Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.)

Down 2

4

Empire Metals Ltd (LSE:EEE)

New

5

Barclays (LSE:BARC)

New

6

Aviva (LSE:AV.)

New

7

Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY)

Up 1

8

Fresnillo (LSE:FRES)

New

9

Wishbone Gold (LSE:WSBN)

New

10

Strategic Minerals (LSE:SML)

New

BP (LSE:BP.) is the week’s biggest riser, up seven places as bargain hunters picked up stock at prices not seen since the start of August. Shares traded as low as 399p compared with a high of 446p last month.

There was weakness across the sector as the cost of a barrel of oil slumped to its lowest since early 2021. Losses came as investors feared oversupply amid record US crude production, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned about reduced demand. There are also concerns that US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin might pave the way for increased oil supply from Russia.

There are six new entries this week, among them a bunch of mining stocks as the prices of gold, silver and precious metals rally.

A new high for gold above $4,300/ounce kept investors interested in popular small-cap mining stocks. Empire Metals Ltd (LSE:EEE) is the highest of the new entries, in at number four. The £260 million company appeared in this list three times in September, but not this month until now.

Last week, it announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) at its flagship Pitfield project in Western Australia. The MRE highlights 2.2 billion tonnes at 5.1% titanium (TiO2) for 113 million tonnes of contained TiO2.

House broker, SP Angel said: “Pitfield has the potential to be a multi-generational asset in a Tier One jurisdiction in a commodity with limited long-life development projects. Focus now will be on optimising the flowsheet to maximise margins and capital intensity as management progresses the asset through feasibility and financing stages.”

Empire shares rallied from 10p in May to a peak of 84p last month. After dropping back to 30p soon after, the price spiked last week to 82p before ending Friday at 42p. The shares have been popular in recent months, so a high number of shareholders with differing entry points and objectives continue to make this a volatile stock.

It’s a similar story at Wishbone Gold (LSE:WSBN), which is back here after a short break. There was interest in the stock following an update on its Red Setter Gold Dome project, also in Western Australia. After completing diamond drilling at hole 2, the core is being sent to labs for cutting and assay. An initial 5,000-metre reverse circulation programme begins on 21 October.

Wishbone shares, worth just 0.1p in April, traded as high as 2.28p last month. They slipped back to 1.15p but were up again at 1.55p towards the end of last week.

Strategic Minerals (LSE:SML) makes its debut in the top 10. It follows “exceptional” results from its Cornwall Resources subsidiary, which is drilling its Redmoor tungsten-tin-copper project in Cornwall.

“It is in the board’s opinion that Redmoor’s value has gone unrecognised, and our intention is to further progress the project and highlight its merits within a global context,” said executive chair Charles Manners. “With tungsten prices rising significantly this year, and a global push to secure access to critical and strategic minerals, Redmoor is well placed as a world-leading asset.”

Worth just 0.3p a month ago, Strategic Minerals shares changed hands for as much as 1.3p after the results, their highest in six years.

It’s a first appearance in this list for Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) too, as investors piled into the FTSE 100 silver miner following a sharp drop in its share price Friday. The sell-off reflected a decline on the gold and silver markets, although Fresnillo shares are still up 265% in 2025 so far.

Barclays (LSE:BARC) rarely appears in this list, last making it into the top 10 in August. This time, bargain hunters took advantage of a slump in share price to a near-two-month low amid credit concerns sparked by American regional banks. Also a target for investors hunting cheap stock, Aviva (LSE:AV.) is back after a five-week break.

Top 10 funds and trusts in ISAs

Jupiter Gold & Silver has entered the top 10 list amid the hot streak for both precious metals. Investors have continued to target any potential future gains via the Jupiter fund, which holds a combination of mining equities and bullion.

The fund, which was 11th most popular among interactive investor customers in the previous week, was already among the bestsellers in both August and September.

Portfolios that focus on the likes of gold mining equities tend to make large returns when both the metal’s price and stock markets fare well, and this Jupiter vehicle has been no exception. It has returned more than 135% for 2025 so far, as of 17 October.

Investors have otherwise stuck with many of their old favourites, with cash play Royal London Short Term Money Mkt continuing to rule the roost and growth funds of different stripes, from the L&G Global Technology Index to Scottish Mortgage Ord (LSE:SMT), cropping up alongside global equity trackers. Polar Capital Technology Ord (LSE:PCT) hovers outside the list, in 12th place.

Global funds that take a less US-centric approach than their peers keep drawing investors in, with Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity moving up to second place and its fully equity-focused equivalent Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity re-entering the top 10.

The HSBC FTSE All-World Index fund, which has modest exposure to some emerging markets such as China, Taiwan and India but still has an allocation of more than 60% to the US, stays in the top five.

On the active side, Artemis Global Income, which has just a third of its portfolio in North America and delves into other regions such as Europe and emerging markets, comes in at sixth place, three spots down from last time. The fund is sitting on a gain of more than 30% for 2025 so far.

Meanwhile, UK income funds have fallen back: dividend hero City of London Ord (LSE:CTY) drops down to ninth place, while strong performer Temple Bar Ord (LSE:TMPL) falls out of the list altogether.

Funds and trusts section written by Dave Baxter, senior fund content specialist at ii.

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.

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.

Related Categories

    FundsUK sharesInvestment TrustsISAsAIM & small cap sharesBonds and giltsEuropeEmerging marketsEditors' picks

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