Funds
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Latest funds news and insights
How Baillie Gifford American became a star fund
Baillie Gifford American Fund is one of the most popular on the interactive investor platform, and its stunning performance helps explain why. We talk to portfolio manager Dave Bujnowski about why it’s done so well, recent stock trades and whether he thinks the US tech sector is overheating.
Funds Fan: Buffettology’s Keith Ashworth-Lord and Fundsmith Equity
Fund, investment trust and ETF data. See the latest »
Most popular funds
Most purchased funds in December 2020
Rank | Fund | IA sector | Ranking change since previous month | 1-year return to 4 Jan (%) | 3-year return to 4 Jan (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Baillie Gifford American | North America | +1 | 121.8% | 219% |
2 | Fundsmith Equity | Global | - 1 | 18.4% | 52.3% |
3 | Baillie Gifford Positive Change | Global | + 1 | 80% | 138.8% |
4 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | +1 | 7.6% | 22% |
5 | Baillie Gifford Global Discovery | Global | +1 | 76.8% | 129.4% |
6 | Baillie Gifford Pacific | Asia Pacific Excluding Japan | +1 | 60.3% | 74.7% |
7 | Baillie Gifford China | China | -4 | 55.9% | 64.5% |
8 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | No change | 7.8% | 20.4% |
9 | Baillie Gifford Long-Term Global Growth | Global | No change | 95.6% | 162.6% |
10 | Baillie Gifford Managed | Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares | New entry | 33.8% | 58.1% |
Source: interactive investor and FE Analytics. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of December.
Most purchased funds in November 2020
Rank | Fund | IA sector | Ranking change since previous month | 1-year return to 1 Dec (%) | 3-year return to 1 Dec (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Fundsmith Equity | Global | No change | 16.6% | 52% |
2 | Baillie Gifford American | North America | No change | 110.5% | 211.8% |
3 | Baillie Gifford China | China | +2 | 55.5% | 57% |
4 | Baillie Gifford Positive Change | Global | -1 | 80.1% | 137.8% |
5 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | +2 | 6.3% | 21.5% |
6 | Baillie Gifford Global Discovery | Global | -2 | 61.9% | 123.9% |
7 | Baillie Gifford Pacific | Asia Pacific Excluding Japan | New entry | 62.4% | 73.8% |
8 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | No change | 6.5% | 20.0% |
9 | Baillie Gifford Long-Term Global Growth | Global | No change | 96.3% | 154.9% |
10 | Legg Mason IF Japan Equity | Japan | no change | 43.6% | 66.9% |
Source: interactive investor and FE Analytics. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of November.
Most purchased funds in October 2020
Rank | Fund | IA sector | Ranking change since previous month |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Fundsmith Equity | Global | No change |
2 | Baillie Gifford American | North America | No change |
3 | Baillie Gifford Positive Change | Global | No change |
4 | Baillie Gifford Global Discovery | Global | +1 |
5 | Baillie Gifford China | China | New entry |
6 | Baillie Gifford Japanese Smaller Companies | Japanese Smaller Companies | New entry |
7 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | -3 |
8 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | No change |
9 | Baillie Gifford Long-Term Global Growth | Global | -3 |
10 | Legg Mason IF Japan Equity | Japan | New entry |
Most purchased funds in September 2020
Rank | Fund | IA sector | Ranking change since previous month |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Fundsmith Equity | Global | No change |
2 | Baillie Gifford American | North America | No change |
3 | Baillie Gifford Positive Change | Global | No change |
4 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | No change |
5 | Baillie Gifford Global Discovery | Global | No change |
6 | Baillie Gifford Long Term Global Growth | Global | No change |
7 | Baillie Gifford Managed | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | +1 |
8 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | -1 |
9 | LF Blue Whale Growth | Global | New entry |
10 | Rathbone Global Opportunities | Global | -1 |
Most purchased funds in August 2020
Rank | Fund | IA sector | Ranking since previous month |
1 | Fundsmith Equity | Global | No change |
2 | Baillie Gifford American | North America | No change |
3 | Baillie Gifford Positive Change | Global | No change |
4 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | Up two places |
5 | Baillie Gifford Global Discovery | Global | Down one place |
6 | Baillie Gifford Long-Term Global Growth | Global | Down one place |
7 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | Down one place |
8 | Baillie Gifford Managed | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | No change |
9 | Rathbone Global Opportunities | Global | New entry |
10 | L&G Global Technology Index | Technology and Telecommunications | New entry |
Most purchased funds in July 2020
Rank | Fund | IA sector | Ranking since previous month |
1 | Fundsmith Equity | Global | No change |
2 | Baillie Gifford American | North America | No change |
3 | Baillie Gifford Positive Change | Global | Up one place |
4 | Baillie Gifford Global Discovery | Global | Up one place |
5 | Baillie Gifford Long Term Global Growth | Global | Up five places |
6 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | Down three places |
7 | Baillie Gifford China | China | New entry |
8 | Baillie Gifford Managed | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | New entry |
9 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Mixed investment 40%-85% shares | Down three places |
10 | Polar Capital Global Technology | Technology and Telecommunications | Down one place |
Most purchased funds in June 2020
Rank | Fund | IA sector | Ranking change since previous month |
1 | Fundsmith Equity | Global | No change |
2 | Baillie Gifford American | North America | No change |
3 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | Mixed Investment 40%-85% Shares | No change |
4 | Baillie Gifford Positive Change | Global | Up five places |
5 | Baillie Gifford Global Discovery | Global | Down one place |
6 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Mixed Investment 40%-85% Shares | Up one place |
7 | Lindsell Train Global Equity | Global | Up one place |
8 | L&G Global Technology Index | Technology & Telecommunications | Down three places |
9 | Polar Capital Global Technology | Technology & Telecommunications | Down three places |
10 | Baillie Gifford Long Term Global Growth | Global | New entry |
Most purchased funds in May 2020
Fund | IA sector | Ranking change since previous month |
Fundsmith Equity | Global | No change |
Baillie Gifford American | North America | Up three places |
Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | Mixed Investment 40%-85% Shares | Down one place |
Baillie Gifford Global Discovery | Global | Up six places |
L&G Global Technolohy Index | Technology & Telecommunications | Up two places |
Polar Capital Global Technology | Technology & Telecommunications | Up three places |
Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Mixed Investment 40%-85% Shares | Down three places |
Lindsell Train Global Equity | Global | Down five places |
Baillie Gifford Positive Change | Global | New entry |
Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity | Global | Down four places |
Most purchased funds in April 2020
Rank | Fund | IA sector | Ranking change since previous month |
1 | Fundsmith Equity | Global | No change |
2 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity | Mixed Investment 40%-85% Shares | No change |
3 | Lindsell Train Global Equity | Global | Up three places |
4 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity | Mixed Investment 40%-85% Shares | No change |
5 | Ballie Gifford American | North America | New entry |
6 | Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity | Global | Down three places |
7 | L&G Global Technology Index | Technology & Telecommunications | New entry |
8 | Vanguard US Equity Index | North America | New entry |
9 | Polar Capital Global Technology | Technology & Telecommunications | New entry |
10 | Baillie Gifford Global Discovery | Global | New entry |
Fund Recommendations
ii Super 60
Discover a range of quality investment options for your portfolio. We’ve done the research so you don’t have to.
Ethical funds:
ii ACE 40
The UK’s first rated list of ethical investments - to help you invest in line with your personal values.
Helping you choose funds for your portfolio
With thousands of funds to choose from, it is easy to become overwhelmed. To help, our impartial experts have selected ideas for a wide range of active and passive funds, investment trusts, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The ii Super 60 selections are designed to suit all investors, while our ACE 30 list highlights the best-in-class ethical options.
Check out how each choice attained ii rated status by reading our methodology and FAQs.
- Our Super 60 Methodology and FAQs
- Our ACE 40 Methodology and FAQs.
For a snapshot of the best-performing funds over various timeframes check out our top performing fund tables. Top Performing Funds →
Why choose interactive investor to buy funds?
✔ We offer the widest choice – more than 40,000 UK & global investment options, including over 3,000 funds.
✔ We charge a low, flat fee of £9.99 per month. Most other investment platforms charge a percentage fee that grows with your investments.
✔ The £9.99 monthly fee includes our Stocks & Shares ISA, Trading Account and Junior ISA (add a SIPP for £10 a month).
✔ We give you a free trade every month. There are also no trading fees with our regular investing service.
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Funds FAQs
What is a fund?
A fund is a type of pooled investment, which gives investors access to a spread of companies. They are structured as either unit trusts or open-ended investment companies (OEICs), but in practice there is little difference between the two as far as private investors are concerned. A full explanation, though, can be found on our OEICS page.
With funds, there are two investment styles: actively managed funds (in which the choice of companies is made by a professional fund manager) and passively managed funds (which invest in the constituents of a stock market index and therefore follow its fortunes up and down).
Each investor in a fund receives shares or units, which represent a portion of the holdings of the fund.
What is the difference between active and passive funds?
Active funds
An actively managed investment fund has an individual fund manager (or a team of managers) who make investment decisions for the fund. Investors who buy active funds hope the fund manager(s) will outperform rival active funds and a comparable stock market index.
Passive funds
Passive funds, also known as index trackers, tracks the up and down movements of a stock market index (such as the FTSE 100) - or a filtered version of it. No active decisions are made – instead the composition of the index is mirrored by the fund. Therefore, investors should expect the return of the fund to be close to the performance of the index, but with a slight lag due to the fund charge. As well as index trackers, passive funds can also be structured as exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
What are the main types of funds?
Broadly speaking funds can be divided according to whether they invest in equities, bonds or property. In addition, there are more specialist funds: some invest in alternative assets (such as infrastructure) and others in commodities (such as gold and oil). There are also multi-asset funds, which invest in a mixture of assets.
Funds either invest globally or on a regional basis in a developed market (US, UK or Europe) or across Asia and the emerging markets.
There is not one single fund that meets everybody's goals and needs, but a combination of different types of funds and investment trusts can help investors achieve a diversified portfolio, which helps to reduce risk. A mixed investment approach gives a portfolio ample opportunity to grow, while at the same time helping to guard against serious short-term losses.
This reflects the fact that different types of investment are unlikely all to outperform or underperform at the same time, which therefore reduces the volatility of your overall portfolio.
How do I buy funds?
If you are not a customer of interactive investor you will need to open an account. It is easy to add funds to your portfolio using our online account.
We charge a flat fee of £9.99 a month, which gives you access to our Stocks and Shares ISA, Trading Account and Junior ISA (plus £10 a month if you add a SIPP).
Bear in mind that as well as our fee, funds charge a separate annual fee, which is paid to the fund management company. Actively managed funds tend to have an ongoing charges figure (OCF) of between 0.85% and 1% a year. In pounds and pence this works out at £85 to £100 on a £10,000 investment. Passively managed funds are cheaper, with some index funds and ETFs for two of the main developed markets (US and UK) costing less than 0.1%. A 0.1% charge would work out at £10 on a £10,000 investment.
What is the difference between income and accumulation units?
The income units pay out any income generated by the fund (such as dividends from shares or coupons from bonds), while for accumulation units, this is simply reinvested back into the fund.
The income share class is suited to those who want to draw an income - for instance those using their investments to help fund their retirement. In contrast, the accumulation share class is a better choice for those who do not need or wish to have the income generated by the fund returned to them as they are building up their ISA and/or SIPP. Those who pick the accumulation share class will benefit from the power of compounding, which means in effect that investors get returns on their returns.
Important information
The price and value of investments and their income fluctuates, so you may get back less than the amount you invested. If you are unsure about the suitability of a particular investment or think that you need a personal recommendation, you should speak to a suitably qualified financial adviser.
The information we provide in the ii Super 60 is an opinion provided by ii or one of its partners on whether to buy a specific investment. Please note that none of the opinions we provide is a personal recommendation.
Remember that each fund is unique and exposed to different levels of risk. While some are relatively low risk, others can be very risky and will only be appropriate for more sophisticated investors.
There may be a fund manager charge, which is a percentage of the value of your investment. This can differ depending on the fund.
We charge a monthly flat fee to cover the cost of our services, including the administration of your funds.