Top 10 best-selling ISA and SIPP funds this year

Important information - investment values and income from investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. 

The income offered by cash is still fairly attractive, therefore - even though the Bank of England has cut the base rate three times this year. In these strange economic and political times, it is also a sensible way to diversify your portfolio, alongside assets like bonds, gold, infrastructure and property.

Over long periods of time, however, cash has historically underperformed shares. If you had invested £1,000 in a world tracker fund on New Year’s Eve 1999, you would now have around £5,000. If you had opted for cash instead, you would only have grown your pot to £1,700. Please remember past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

• Read: How far will interest rates fall?

Tech still big

Cash has pushed technology funds down the rankings. Last year, the Legal & General Global Technology Index Trust was the third most popular choice for both ISA customers. Now, it sits in fifth place.

The sector still exerts a powerful pull, however, and the L&G trust is a cheap way to tap into it. The fund tracks the FTSE World-Technology Index, offering passive exposure to the likes of Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple and Meta. As these names suggest, the portfolio is highly skewed towards North America.

The Fidelity Index US Fund is another favourite for ISA and SIPP customers. The single-country fund tracks the entire S&P 500 Index, but the ‘Magnificent 7’ stocks represent about 30% of the portfolio.

The actively-managed Fidelity Global Technology Fund has a slightly different focus. The fund counts Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) as its biggest holding and has less exposure to the ‘Magnificent 7’ than your typical tech tracker.

America’s place in the world has been under constant scrutiny since Donald Trump took over as president. The country’s withdrawal from global institutions, its debt, and its trade policies have caused many investors to be wary. As we enter October, however, the S&P 500 has more than clawed back its ‘liberation day’ losses and artificial intelligence is back in vogue.

• Read: How to prepare for an AI stock market tumble

Beyond the US

That said, there is evidence that personal investors do want to diversify away from American mega-caps. The Fidelity Index World Fund is the second most popular choice for ISA and SIPP investors this year - a straightforward route to geographic diversification (although the US still represents about 72% of the total portfolio).

Meanwhile, the Fidelity Global Dividend Fund is climbing up the rankings. This fund hunts for the world’s strongest income payers across developed markets. It is notably light on US stocks and heavy on European ones, and one of the portfolio’s biggest holding is home-grown: Unilever. In general, the experienced stock-picking team is much more interested in sectors like consumer staples and industrials than IT.

Fidelity investment director Tom Stevenson named the Fidelity Global Dividend Fund as one of his top picks for 2025. ‘It’s one of the longest-standing holdings in my own portfolio which has served me very well over the years,’ Tom said. ‘It has delivered steady growth, despite being underweight the US equities which have driven markets higher.’

When it comes to diversification, there is also an interesting addition to this year’s top ISA picks: the Legal & General UK Index Trust. Having flown under the radar for several months, this FTSE All-Share tracker proved very popular this summer.

The Fidelity Special Situations Fund has also climbed into the ISA best-sellers list. Managed by Alex Wright and Jonathan Winton, the fund mainly invests in the UK and targets cheap companies with recovery potential. Top holdings include British American Tobacco, the Irish distributor DCC, and the Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered. Smaller players also feature, as there are no size constraints.

Notable exits

Finally, it is worth flagging a couple of departures from the best-sellers list. Last year, the Jupiter India Fund was a hit with ISA investors, having delivered explosive returns between March 2023 and March 2024. Growth in the region has slowed significantly since then, however, and the fund has fallen out of the rankings.

Fundsmith Equity - run by legendary fund manager Terry Smith - is also less popular than it once was. The fund has underperformed the market in recent years, despite delivering impressive long-term gains.

The Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund has also slipped from the best-sellers list in recent months. This fund - which features in our Select 50 - is actively managed and tries to find ‘future winners’. While Nvidia is the third biggest holding, the portfolio is headed up by retail chain Costco and American electronics company Amphenol. It is at the riskier end of the spectrum, given it is fairly concentrated and targets high growth companies, and was hit hard by Trump’s tariff announcements. Over the longer term, however, its performance has been impressive.

ISA - Best-selling funds year-to-date

1. Fidelity Cash Fund
2. Fidelity Index World Fund
3. Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund
4. Fidelity Global Dividend Fund
5. Legal & General Global Technology Index Trust
6. Legal & General Cash Trust
7. Fidelity Index US Fund
8. Fidelity Special Situations Fund
9. Legal & General UK Index Trust
10. Fidelity Global Technology Fund

Source: Fidelity International. Gross ISA sales 1 Jan to 30 Sep 2025 for Personal Investors only.

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SIPP - Best-selling funds year-to-date

1. Fidelity Cash Fund
2. Fidelity Index World Fund
3. Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund
4. Legal & General Cash Trust
5. Fidelity Global Dividend Fund
6. Legal & General Global Technology Index Trust
7. Fidelity Global Technology Fund
8. Fidelity Index US Fund
9. Fidelity Multi Asset Allocator Growth Fund
10. Vanguard LifeStrategy Funds ICVC-Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity Fund

Source: Fidelity International. Gross SIPP sales 1 Jan to 30 Sep 2025 for Personal Investors only.

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