10 hottest ISA shares, funds and trusts: week ended 5 January 2024
In this new series of articles, we’ll be revealing the 10 most-popular shares, funds and investment trusts added to ISAs on the interactive investor platform during the past week.
8th January 2024 11:14
by Lee Wild from interactive investor
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With ISA season under way and tax year-end fast approaching, 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 use of both existing funds and new money.
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Top 10 shares in ISAs
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Top of the table last week was ANGLE (LSE:AGL), a small liquid biopsy company listed on AIM. It started 2024 in style after announcing “breakthrough” clinical results from DNA molecular analysis of cancer patient blood samples. These will give insight into the progression of patient's cancer and how it can be treated.
Angle shares soared more than 180% in just two trading sessions following the news.
The company said combined DNA next generation sequencing of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) and ctDNA from the same blood sample, demonstrates potential for Angle’s Parsortix system to identify key variants (DNA mutations) missed by other approaches. This will help treatment decisions.
It added: “The new DNA sample-to-answer molecular solution combining CTC and ctDNA analysis is expected to be a driver of product and pharma services sales.”
Angle’s patented Parsortix PC1 system is the first FDA cleared medical device for the capture and harvest of intact CTCs from metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patient blood for subsequent, user-validated analysis.
Argo Blockchain (LSE:ARB), another big riser over the past month, remained popular. As cryptocurrencies more broadly have enjoyed a resurgence, so too has Argo, its share price up over 300% since the start of December.
There was no fresh news last week, but an operational update from the crypto miner this morning reported it mined 155 bitcoin in December, or five bitcoin per day, up 4% on the previous month. Mining revenue rose to $6.6 million, the highest in 2023.
Unfortunately, the shares are sharply lower Monday after it confirmed a share placing with institutional investors at 20.5p versus Friday’s closing price of 27.13p. The £7.8 million raised will be used for working capital, repaying debt and general corporate purposes.
JD Sports Fashion (LSE:JD.) also attracted attention last week as the shares crashed 25% following a profits warning. The company had been a star performer, but conditions are proving difficult.
However, investors clearly believe they’ve spotted a bargain and that the sell-off may have been overdone.
Top 10 funds and trusts in ISAs
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ISA investors are focusing their sights on potential high growth opportunities. This is reflected by Scottish Mortgage (LSE:SMT) taking the top spot in the most-bought table last week. The investment trust owns growth companies (with around 30% in private firms), whose profits are expected to rise significantly in the future. Its top three stock picks at end of November were ASML Holding NV (EURONEXT:ASML), MercadoLibre Inc (NASDAQ:MELI) and NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA).
It has been a painful couple of years of share price performance, but the tide could be starting to turn. Since the beginning of November, Scottish Mortgage’s share price is up just over 20%. Fuelling the rally has been rising expectations that the interest rate cycle has peaked, with cuts on the cards in 2024, and with the US expected to lead the way.
Other growth-focused strategies investors are being drawn to are Fundsmith Equity and Jupiter India. Both are actively managed funds, with the former having star stock picker Terry Smith at the helm. The latter is an India specialist fund, which is proving popular on the back of a strong stock market performance in the country since the pandemic.
Arguably the biggest investment theme of 2023 was technology stocks returning to form, particularly the US giants, and it appears ISA investors are expecting this trend to endure. This is reflected by the appearance of Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity, L&G Global Technology Index and Vanguard US Equity Index.
Elsewhere, four income offerings make the top 10: JPMorgan Global Growth & Income Ord (LSE:JGGI), Royal London Short Term Money Market, Alliance Trust (LSE:ATST) and City of London (LSE:CTY). The demand for income is much more prevalent among investment trusts, with its structure giving it an edge over open-ended funds. Investment trusts can hold back up to 15% of their income each year, which means they can build up a “rainy day” reserve to bolster dividend payouts in leaner years. In contrast, open-ended funds have to return to investors all the income generated each year.
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.