Ian Cowie: the top investment trusts since Brexit

Our columnist looks at the best performers over 10 years.

11th June 2026 10:48

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Investment trust shareholders continue to be divided on whether to celebrate or commiserate about Brexit, when Britain voted to leave the European Union (EU) a decade ago this month.

But your humble correspondent is delighted to own shares in two of the top 10 investment trusts since 23 June 2016, albeit only one of them for the whole of this historic period.

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Step forward Polar Capital Technology Ord (LSE:PCT), the self-descriptive £8 billion fund that delivered an eye-popping 996% total return over the last 10 years.

That placed PCT second out of 281 members of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), with Allianz Technology Trust Ord (LSE:ATT), which has total assets of around £2.3 billion, pipping it to pole position with a total return of 1,068%.

Both have benefited from the boom in digital technology in general and artificial intelligence (AI) in particular.

ATT’s allocation to smaller tech businesses paid off over the long term but PCT’s preference for blue chip or bigger players - such as the chipmakers NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ADR (NYSE:TSM) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) - put it ahead over the last year, with total returns of 92% for PCT versus 69% for ATT.

Both funds suffered some profit-taking earlier this week, possibly to fund subscriptions for imminent high-profile initial public offers (IPOs) or stock market flotations elsewhere.

But this small shareholder is keeping both feet on terra firma and is very glad to have owned PCT for more than a decade.

I transferred these shares from a paper-based broker in September, 2013, when they were priced at 43p, allowing for a subsequent 10-for-one share split, and they were changing hands at £6.61 on Thursday.

In addition to ATT and PCT, the other top 10 investment trusts over the last decade were (with their percentage gain shown immediately after the name and ticker) BlackRock World Mining Trust Ord (LSE:BRWM) on 549%; Manchester & London Ord (LSE:MNL) on 542%; Pacific Horizon Ord (LSE:PHI) on 534%; CQS Natural Resources G&I Ord (LSE:CYN) on 519%; Scottish Mortgage Ord (LSE:SMT) on 477%; 3i Group Ord (LSE:III) on 447%; Rockwood Strategic Ord (LSE:RKW) on 406% and BlackRock Energy and Resources Income (LSE:BERI) with 365%.

Among those top 10 investment trusts over the last decade, my other winner is SMT but I can’t make much of that because I only bought shares recently, when bailing out of Edinburgh Worldwide Ord (LSE:EWI) before the latter succumbed to a hostile takeover.

Of wider interest, it is notable that this list of long-term top 10 trusts includes only one UK-focused fund; the smaller companies specialist RKW.

Sad to say, patriotism proved an unreliable path to profits over the last decade.

While the average AIC member around the globe delivered 163%, the average British fund’s total returns were, respectively, UK All Companies 131%; UK Equity & Bond 106%; UK Equity Income 128% and UK Smaller Companies 93%.

By contrast, the average North America investment trust achieved a total return of 310% over the same period. Europe did less than half as well, with an average return of 155% over the last decade. Asia Pacific came closer to keeping up with a total return of 266%.

As discussed here last week, emerging markets are recovering from their recent downturn with an average return of 241% over the last decade.

Perhaps surprisingly, China & Greater China could manage only 129%, while my long-term favourite, India/Indian Subcontinent lagged far behind with 77% over the same period.

It is important to be aware that the past is not necessarily a guide to the future. However, the decade since Britain voted to leave the EU does give a long-term view of global returns and those achieved closer to home.

This comparison strongly suggests that it pays to invest internationally, rather than on a UK-only basis.

Fund managers with a UK remit might argue otherwise, but individual investors should remember that online platforms mean a world of opportunities is only a click away.

The tendency to buy familiar names, sometimes called “home bias”, has had a high price in terms of reduced returns over the last decade.

More positively, investment trusts also make it convenient and cost-effective to gain exposure to specialist sectors, such as commodities and technology.

That way, shareholders should be able to achieve growth and income wherever they arise.

Ian Cowie is a freelance contributor and not a direct employee of interactive investor

Ian Cowie is a shareholder in Apple (AAPL), Polar Capital Technology (PCT) and Scottish Mortgage (SMT) as part of a globally diversified portfolio of investment trusts and other shares.

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.

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