10 top UK funds of 2025

With just over a week to go, the FTSE 100 is on track to end the year up by more than 20%, something it has only achieved a handful of times since its inception.

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The key drivers have been commodities, with companies such as Fresnillo (LSE:FRES), Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV), and Antofagasta (LSE:ANTO) benefiting from surging gold, silver, and copper prices; banks, including Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) and Barclays (LSE:BARC), increasing profits on the back of higher interest rates; and defence and aerospace companies such as Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.) and Babcock International Group (LSE:BAB).

The Financial News 30 (FN 30) was launched in 1935 and was the original benchmark for the London stock market, tracking 30 leading companies. In 1945, the Financial News merged with the Financial Times (FT) and the index became the FT 30.

In 1984, it was replaced by the FTSE 100. The name comes from the two original joint owners of the index business, the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange (SE). It tracks the 100 largest companies traded on the London Stock Exchange.

The index had a strong inaugural year, rising by more than 23%, and also recorded annual returns of 20% or more in 1989, 1993, 1995, and 1997. However, since then there has only been one other occasion. In 2008, during the financial crisis, the index fell by 31%. The following year it rebounded, gaining 22%.

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Although widely regarded as a barometer of the UK economy, the index contains a high proportion of large international companies, which generate most of their revenue overseas, typically around 70% to 80%. The FTSE 250, which tracks the next 250 largest companies (from 101st to 350th), is often considered a better indicator of domestic economic conditions.

The FTSE 250 is up around 8% so far this year.

There are three Investment Association (IA) sectors for funds investing in UK equities.

They are:

UK All Companies – for funds which invest at least 80% of their assets in UK equities and have a primary objective of achieving capital growth.

UK Smaller Companies – for funds which invest at least 80% of their assets in UK equities of companies that form the smallest 15% by market capitalisation.

UK Equity Income – for funds which invest at least 80% in UK equities and aim to achieve a historic yield on distributable income in excess of 100% of the FTSE All-Share yield at the fund’s year end on a three-year rolling basis, and 90% on an annual basis.

So far this year, the UK All Companies sector has gained 14.5%, UK Equity Income is up 17.3%, while the UK Smaller Companies sector has risen by just 3.0%.

As you would expect, some funds have performed well ahead of their sector averages, while others have lagged behind. The MI Chelverton UK Equity Growth B Acc fund, for example, is down 5.8%, while WS Lindsell Train UK Equity Acc has fallen 6.7%, and FTF ClearBridge UK Smaller Comp W Acc has dropped 7.1%. At the other end of the spectrum, Artemis SmartGARP UK Eq I Acc GBP has risen by nearly 40%.

Here are the top 10 funds from either the UK All Companies, UK Smaller Companies, or UK Equity Income sectors, based on their year-to-date performance.

Saltydog Investor’s top 10 UK funds

Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

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