The top 10 most-popular investment funds: February 2024
A new number one, a newcomer, and passive funds still outnumber active ones.
1st March 2024 10:59
by Nina Kelly from interactive investor
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The striking outperformance of Jupiter India propelled it to the top of the most-bought funds’ list in February, based on the number of buys among our customers during the month.
Jupiter India was highlighted recently by Saltydog Investor Douglas Chadwick, who pointed out that the fund rose 30% last year and 55% over the past 12 months. It has beaten its benchmark and peers over one, three, five and 10 years. Its one, three and five-year performance figures to date are 57.8%, 103.1% and 120.7%.
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Managed by Avinash Vazirani since 2008, the fund looks to find small and medium-sized companies that are sometimes overlooked. The top 10 holdings, according to the latest factsheet, include tobacco manufacturer Godfrey Phillips, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, a port operator and logistics company, and information technology consultancy HCL Technologies. The fund’s greatest sector exposure is to financials (22%), followed by energy (13.9%) and industrials (13.5%).
Investing in emerging markets is risky, but the subcontinent’s combination of favourable demographics and growth potential is exciting to investors and the fund is currently the most-bought collective investment among our ISA customers. Investors need to take care when it comes to which share class they pick. Investors can own it for 0.99% for the Jupiter I Acc share class, while the L Acc share class ongoing charges figure is 1.74%.
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Fundsmith Equity, up one to second place, is also one of the most-bought ISA investments among our customers. In addition, the global equities fund, which is overseen by star investor Terry Smith, kept its place on a list created by specialist writer Jennifer Hill of buy-and-hold-forever funds. Hill was reviewing the selection five years on. She said that the five-year performance figure for Fundsmith Equity was impressive given that “the approach prevents the manager from investing in the expensive US tech mega-caps that have driven the market higher”. Fundsmith Equity appears on interactive investor’s Super 60 list of investment ideas.
Down from first to third place from last month is thematic fund L&G Global Technology Index. There is a strong appetite for tech right now with NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) being the poster child of artificial intelligence (AI). In the computer-chip company’s recent results, it reported an astonishing 265% climb in revenue on the back of demand for its products. The Nasdaq-listed firm is among the top 10 holdings in the L&G tracker fund’s portfolio, along with other companies in the Magnificent Seven, including Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Meta Platforms Inc Class A (NASDAQ:META), and Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL). This passive fund’s yearly fee is 0.32%.
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In seventh place, Vanguard US Equity Index has a large weighting to technology (28%), but also offers investors exposure to a range of different sectors with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (NYSE:BRK.B) in its top 10. The performance of this Super 60 fund has been driven by the mega-cap tech stocks.
Two ii writers identified Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity (ninth place) as an “ideal portfolio building block”. While Sam Benstead was selecting potential investments for a £100,000 hypothetical core and satellite funds’ portfolio for an ISA, ii contributor Faith Glasgow also suggested the 100% Equity fund as a potential option for a beginner, if they had a long-term horizon and were comfortable seeking potentially higher returns in exchange for more risk. The fund has a low-cost of 0.22%. Sister funds 80% Equity and 60% Equity were also in the top 10 in fourth and 10th place, respectively.
Royal London Short Term Money Market (fifth place) has provided investors with steady gains amid volatility. When interest rates rise, the return on low-risk money market funds also rises. The current yield is 5.30%.
Two global passive funds make up the rest of the top 10 table, namely HSBC FTSE All-World Index (sixth place) and Fidelity Index World (eighth place).
The fund that exited the top 10 in February was Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index.
Top 10 most-popular investment funds in February 2024
| Rank | Fund | IA sector | Ranking change since previous month | 1-year return to 1 Mar (%) | 3-year return to 1 Mar (%) |
| 1 | Jupiter India | India/Indian Subcontinent | Up three | 57.80% | 103.10% |
| 2 | Fundsmith Equity | Global | Up one | 15.90% | 29.10% |
| 3 | L&G Global Technology Index | Technology and Technology Innovations | Down two | 50.70% | 60.30% |
| 4 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | Down two | 10.80% | 18.70% |
| 5 | Royal London Short Term Money Mkt | Short Term Money Market | No change | 5.10% | 7.19% |
| 6 | HSBC FTSE All-World Index | Global | Up one | 16.30% | 33.95% |
| 7 | Vanguard US Equity Index | North America | Down one | 22.20% | 40.70% |
| 8 | Fidelity Index World | Global | New entry | 18.40% | 40.10% |
| 9 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity | Global | Down one | 12.70% | 29.10% |
| 10 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Global | No change | 8.90% | 9.38% |
Source: interactive investor and FE Analytics. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of February.
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.