Top 10 most-popular investment funds: July 2026

Britain has a new prime minster in Andy Burnham but that hasn’t resulted in any rekindling of enthusiasm for UK equity funds, with investors still largely preferring global exposure, according to the number of buys among interactive investor customers during the month of July, with regular investing excluded.

On the whole, investors are opting for low-cost index or multi-asset funds, with three active strategies in the top 10 table, including one seemingly immovable money market fund.

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Last month, shares in 10th-ranked WS Blue Whale Growth R Sterling Acc (BD6PG78) portfolio, including semiconductor memory manufacturer SK hynix Inc ADR (NASDAQ:SKHY) and AI poster child NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), sold off amid concerns over the colossal levels of spending on AI infrastructure. Hynix also reported second-quarter earnings, which while strong, fell short of analysts’ sky-high expectations. Blue Whale’s short-term total return performance figure over one year is the best in our top 10 table at 40%, while its three-year figure is second best at 115.5%. Only Artemis Global Income’s 140.4% eclipses it.

Another fund tech fans are still favouring, down three places to ninth, is L&G Global Technology Index I Acc (B0CNH16). For investors who have held on to this pure-play tracker for several years, its three and five-year total return figures are an impressive 113% and 143% respectively, although the high risk nature of thematic funds is something to be mindful of.

Another active play in the table is Artemis Global Income I Acc (B5ZX1M7) in fifth place. This value fund has a smaller exposure to tech-dominated North America (34.2%, according to its June factsheet) than most of its global fund peers, which could suit investors worried about an AI bubble and/or sceptical about returns on the huge sums of money that have been pumped into AI development.

Meanwhile, if the Iran war continues, higher inflation and a subsequent rise in interest rates seem likely. However, this ‘negative’ prospect potentially bodes well for investors in first-place ranked Royal London Short Term Money Mkt Y Acc (B8XYYQ8), since the yield is closely linked to the Bank of England base rate. As I wrote last month, it’s worth bearing in mind that ISA changes due to come into force in April, will see a new flat-rate charge of 22% applied on interest paid on cash within a stocks and shares ISA. However, cash-like money market funds can still be held in the tax wrapper provided that investors do not hold 100% of their portfolio in such funds. Our personal finance editor, Craig Rickman, examines the likelihood of a rate rise in September in this piece analysing Monetary Policy Committee members’ voting history.

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‘Growth engine’ Fidelity Index World P Acc (BJS8SJ3) (eighth) is the spicy half of an adventurous and defensive fund pairing favoured by chartered financial planner Ben Brown at First Wealth. “We’ve held it across our model portfolios for several years and it provides a reliable foundation from which the rest of the portfolio can do more targeted work,” he says. Investors can own this tracker, which has a heavy weighting to North America, for 0.12% a year.

Two other global trackers which are regular constituents in the top 10 table are Vanguard FTSE Global All Cp Idx £ Acc (BD3RZ58) and HSBC FTSE All-World Index C Acc (BMJJJF9). The HSBC fund may not be the cheapest way of tracking global markets but it does offer exposure to emerging markets, including Taiwan and China, among its 3,428 holdings. The Vanguard Global All-Cap fund also has weightings to markets beyond the developed world, including India.

The trio that make up the remainder of July’s table are from the multi-asset Vanguard LifeStrategy range. Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity A Acc (B41XG30) fund is ranked sixth, Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity A Acc (B4PQW15) fourth, while Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity A Acc (B3TYHH9) is in seventh place. One of these well-diversified funds may act as a ‘core’ holding for investors who seek a hands-off approach, as these funds rebalance automatically.

Top 10 most-popular funds in July 2026

Source: interactive investor. Performance data to 3 August 2026. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of July. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Most-bought active funds

There are two new entries in our table of the most-bought active fund, Fidelity Cash W Acc (BD1RHT8) and Artemis SmartGARP European Eq I Acc GBP (B2PLJD7). 

The former money market fund, as explained in the first half of this article, could have re-entered the table owing to the current macroeconomic backdrop. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the impact on the oil price is likely to lead to a pick up in inflation, which could see the Bank of England hold or even increase rates in an attempt to tame it. Since money market fund yields are linked to the base rate, investors could be betting on rates rising or at least static rates, hence money market funds continue to appeal. 

Both share classes (accumulation and income) of the Royal London Short Term Money Mkt Y Acc (B8XYYQ8) fund appear in the table, while another money market fund, Vanguard Stlg S/T Mny Mkts A GBP Acc (BFYDWM5) holds steady in ninth place. Cautious investors may prefer these low-risk funds.

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Meanwhile, the £2 billion Artemis SmartGARP European Equity fund has a large weighting to financials (43% according to June factsheet), with European lenders BNP Paribas Act. Cat.A (EURONEXT:BNP), Banco Santander SA (LSE:BNC), and Unipol Assicurazioni SpA (MTA:UNI) among its top 10 holdings. The value fund has been managed since launch in 2001 by Philip Wolstencroft. 

It is not the only fund from the Artemis stable to have made it into our most-bought list, with the fund house’s Global Income fund represented twice (both the accumulation and income share classes) and its SmartGARP Global Equity Income fund ranked in 10th place. SmartGARP stands for ‘growth at a reasonable price’.

Top 10 most-bought active funds July 2026