Top 10 most-popular investment trusts: September 2021

A high-yielding European equity trust ascended the most-bought list.  

European Assets (LSE:EAT) experienced a new-found popularity among interactive investor customers in September, according to the latest most-bought investment trust data.

The trust entered the top 10 most-bought list in fourth place. With a yield of almost 6%, the trust certainly has appeal among investors looking for income. The trust has also benefited from the value/cyclical recovery rally over the past year. On a one-year basis, the trust has returned 41.5%.

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Ian Cowie, a columnist for ii, also recently tipped European Assets. He noted its large exposure to German equities.

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The usual suspects, however, were in the top three positions. Scottish Mortgage (LSE:SMT) continued its mostly unbroken streak of being the favourite trust among investors, occupying the top spot in the most-bought list. Over the past year, the trust has returned 39.7%, and 155.6% over three years.

Smithson Investment Trust (LSE:SSON) also kept its second-place position. The trust has continued to prove popular since its launch in late 2018. Over those almost three years, the trust has returned 86% compared to the Association of Investment Companies’ Global Smaller Companies average of 69.7%.

City of London (LSE:CTY) regained a spot in the top three, rising one place. The trust has long proven to be popular, with many investors driven to its focus on consistently growing its dividend. The trust has also benefited from the value rally, with its one-year return at 27.7%. However, longer term the trust has struggled, with its three-year return sitting at just 4.9%.

Investors also renewed their interest in Finsbury Growth & Income (LSE:FGT), which entered the table in eighth place. Managed by Nick Train, the trust has a focus on consumer goods multinationals, such as Diageo (LSE:DGE) and Unilever (LSE:ULVR). 

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Interest in BlackRock World Mining Trust (LSE:BRWM) continued to grow in September. In August, the trust regained a position in the top 10 having dropped out in July. In September, the trust rose a further two places to take fifth position. Managed by Evy Hambro, the trust has returned 32.3% over the past year.

Capital Gearing (LSE:CGT), the cautiously managed multi-asset trust, slipped out of the top five, falling two places to seventh.

Fidelity China Special Situations (LSE:FCSS) also fell by two places to ninth. The trust is a regular member of the top 10, and its manager Dale Nicholls is highly regarded. The recent regulatory risk-induced sell-off in China has seen many investors try to “buy the dip”. The sell-off, however, has hurt performance, with the trust sitting on a one-year loss of 5.6%.

BlackRock Throgmorton Trust (LSE:THRG) fell four places. The trust focuses on UK smaller companies and has proven to be the best-performing trust on the list over the past year. Its one-year returns currently sit at 64.6%.

Monks (LSE:MNKS) fell one place to the bottom of the top 10 most-bought list. The trust, which is regarded as a less aggressive version of Scottish Mortgage, has a one-year return of 21.2% and 64.2% over three years.

Exiting the top 10 were Henderson Far East Income (LSE:HFEL) and RIT Capital Partners (LSE:RCP).

Top 10 most-popular investment trusts: September 2021

Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of September.