Big surprise in top 10 trusts for August 2018
12th September 2018 10:55
by Rebecca O'Keeffe from interactive investor
There was an unexpected new entry in the list of most-bought trusts in August. Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at interactive investor, reveals who and the other top trusts last month.
The strength of the US market has benefitted many of the most popular investment trusts, with global trusts dominated by the US market and technology a favourite sector for many managers and investors.
Scottish Mortgage remains a firm favourite and has been interactive investor's most popular investment trust for 40 successive months. The stellar performance of Amazon is aiding and abetting its performance and with a third of its holdings in technology, Scottish Mortgage typifies the large global trusts with a large technology bias that have proved hugely popular among investors over the past few years.
Entering the rankings for the first time is Infrastructure India, coming in at number two.Â
Listed on AIM and with shares costing just a few pence, the trust is distinctly different from the rest on the list.Â
As opposed to the buy-and-hold style of investing most popular with the above trusts, Infrastructure India has been very actively traded: as well as being second most bought, it was also the second most sold investment trust in August, with the share price having seen huge volatility over recent weeks.
Allianz Technology Trust, a tech sector specialist, ranked third place. The strong performance of US technology companies has seen the trust deliver a return of close to 50% over the past year.Â
Re-entering the rankings in August was RIT Capital Partners. This well-regarded trust aims to deliver long-term capital growth, while preserving shareholder's capital, so it is more defensive than many on the most popular list.
Also entering the rankings this month was Fidelity China Special.Â
The China-focused trust has struggled since the escalation of trade wars earlier this year and is down close to 20% over the past three months. Its re-entry suggests that investors are starting to look at the huge disparity in geographic returns and may be looking further afield to try and capitalise on markets which have underperformed in recent months as potential buying opportunities.
Most popular investment trusts bought in August 2018
| Rank | Fund | AIC sector | Previous Rank* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scottish Mortgage | Global | 1 |
| 2 | Infrastructure India | Infrastructure | New Entry |
| 3 | Allianz Technology | Technology, Media & Telecommunications | 2 |
| 4 | Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon | Japanese Smaller Companies | 4 |
| 5 | Foreign & Colonial | Global | 8 |
| 6 | Edinburgh Worldwide | Global | 3 |
| 7 | Monks | Global | 7 |
| 8 | Syncona Limited | IT Biotechnology & Healthcare | 6 |
| 9 | RIT Capital Partners | Flexible Investment | Re-entry |
| 10 | Fidelity China Special Situations | Asia Pacific | Re-entry |
* July 2018
Source: interactive investor, 11 September 2018. Shows most bought investment trusts by interactive investor's customers in August 2018.
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