Important information - the value of investments and the income from them, can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest.
Every month, we reveal which funds our customers have been buying. Now, we are also diving into the world of stocks, in a bid to discover which companies are most popular with our ISA and SIPP investors.
Our findings for July are intriguing. On the whole, Fidelity Personal Investing customers buy funds that are doing well. A period of outperformance often does great things for a portfolio’s popularity. When it comes to individual stocks, however, clients are adopting a different approach.
Many of July’s most popular are former stock market darlings that have run into trouble this year. Share prices are depressed, uncertainty is high - and Fidelity customers face a nervous wait. Let’s see what we know so far.
This article is not a recommendation to buy or sell an investment; it is purely insight into some of the companies that Fidelity Personal Investors have been buying.
Taylor Wimpey
Taylor Wimpey topped the most bought list in July, according to Fidelity’s net sales data. This was a bit of a surprise: the FTSE 100 housebuilder has had a tough few months.
The state of the property market is partly to blame for its troubles. High interest rates mean affordability is a big issue for buyers - particularly first-time buyers. Taylor Wimpey has also been slapped with some unexpected charges, including a £222m fire safety provision. As a result, the company swung to a loss in the six months to June.1
However, Taylor Wimpey retains special status for many personal investors. This is due to its generous dividend policy, which aims to pay out 7.5% of net assets or at least £250m every year - even during a downturn. After a difficult period for shares, the company’s dividend yield now sits at a whopping 9%. Please note this is not guaranteed.
What next? Well, Taylor Wimpey recently cut its 2025 operating profit guidance by £20m. However, it still expects to bank profits of £424m - 2% higher than last year.2 Meanwhile, its balance sheet is strong, and management is confident it has ‘the capacity to grow whist continuing to pay this dividend’.
It is worth flagging that the dividend wasn’t ‘covered’ last year. In other words, earnings per share fell below dividends per share. The same thing is expected to happen in 2025. This means Taylor Wimpey may have to dip into its cash reserves to keep paying its shareholders.
We should find out more on 1 October, when the housebuilder will be hosting an investor and analyst event.
- More on Taylor Wimpey
easyJet
Elsewhere in the FTSE 100, easyJet is catching the attention of Fidelity customers.
Travel stocks can be awkward investments. They tend to be very cyclical, as people cut back on holidays when times are tight. Airlines can be particularly tricky, as they have such high fixed costs. This means a small fall in revenue can lead to a big drop in profits.
easyJet is no exception, and the budget carrier has also been dealing with boardroom changes, air traffic control strikes in France, and rising fuel costs. As such, shares have struggled to get off the ground this year.
This has not deterred Fidelity customers, however: easyJet was July’s second most bought stock on the platform, on a net sales basis. Enthusiasm may relate to the company’s valuation: it currently trades on a price/earnings ratio of under 7 times - the cheapest it has been since the pandemic. This is despite strong revenue and profit forecasts, and a reinstated dividend.
Investors may also be hoping that easyJet follows in the footsteps of International Consolidated Airlines (IAG). Shares in the British Airways owner have shot up year-on-year, driven by a successful turnaround strategy.
We have a while to wait until the next easyJet announcement. The company’s financial year ends in September, and it doesn’t plan to publish its full-year results until the end of November.
More on easyJet
Legal & General
Life insurers are not very exciting businesses - but they pay generous income. Phoenix Group, M&G, and Legal & General boast the biggest dividend yields in the whole of the FTSE 100.
These payouts appear to be tempting personal investors, given L&G was the third most popular stock on the Fidelity platform last month.
The company has been enjoying a good run. It beat market expectations at the half-year mark, delivering core operating profit growth of 6%.3 Demand for annuities is driving some of this growth. The pension risk transfer market is also booming, as legacy pension funds seek to offload risk onto insurance companies. This trend has been fuelled by higher interest rates and shows no sign of waning yet.
L&G’s dividend yield currently sits at 8.3%, compared with the FTSE 100’s 3.6%. And this doesn’t include share buybacks. L&G announced a £500m buyback in March which is now almost complete. The ultimate plan is to return £5bn to shareholders over the next three years, through dividends and buybacks.4
It is important to flag, however, that the competitive landscape is changing. Earlier this summer, Aviva and Direct Line merged to form a new insurance heavyweight. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 retirement specialist Just Group is to be bought by a Canadian investment firm for £2.4bn.
- More on Legal & General
Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer staged a triumphant return to the FTSE 100 in 2023, and shares continued to rise in 2024. Its fashion department was improving, its food arm was thriving, stores had been modernised, and net debt was falling.
But then, in April, it was struck by a cyber-attack. This attack is expected to reduce annual profits by £300m, and it has also knocked confidence the in the retailer’s wider online business. Its share price has stumbled as a result.
Fidelity customers are viewing this as an opportunity - M&S was the fourth most-bought stock in July. Their optimism is shared by some analysts.
‘Once Marks and Spencer overcomes its cyberattack setback, we think the firm can achieve profitable growth supported by cost efficiency initiatives, store rotation progress, and organisational changes in the international segment,’ analysts at Morningstar concluded.
The landscape remains intensively competitive, however, and some shareholders are still worried about cyber-security.
Marks & Spencer’s financial year ends in March. The next update, therefore, will be in November, when the chain will publish its interim figures.
- More on Marks & Spencer
Greggs
Last but not least is Greggs. Much like M&S, Greggs has been a retail darling for several years. Its expansion in the UK has been phenomenal, and it has moved skilfully with the times with its vegan sausage rolls and kooky advertising campaigns.
This year, however, shares have fallen by more than 40%. Demand is largely to blame. Revenue growth was well below market expectations at the half-year mark, and like-for-like growth - which excludes the impact of new stores - was just 2.6%.5
Greggs is not the first company to face this challenge. Bargain chain B&M encountered similar hurdles during a store expansion push. Greggs is still determined to grow its footprint, however, reiterating plans to have 3,500 shops in the UK.
This has concerned some analysts. ‘Should like-for-like trends turn negative (a plausible risk, in our view), cash preservation would likely take priority given elevated capex plans,’ analysts at Panmure Gordon concluded.
But there are reasons for optimism too. Greggs has an extremely strong brand and a loyal customer base. It has also blamed the weather for disappointing demand - heavy snow and strong winds in January and unusually hot weather in June had a ‘material impact on consumer behaviour’, it said.
We will find out more on 1 October, when it plans to publish a third quarter trading update.
- More on Greggs
10 most bought shares in July
- Taylor Wimpey
- easyJet
- Legal & General
- Marks & Spencer
- Greggs
- GSK
- Diageo
- Flutter Entertainment
- Tesla
- Metals One
Source: Fidelity International Personal Investing platform net combined ISA and SIPP sales 1.7.25 to 31.7.25.
If you’ve got a burning question you want to ask, why not drop us a line? Ask us your question.
Source:
1,2 Taylor Wimpey half year results, 30 July 2025
3 Legal & General half year results, 6 August 2025
4 Legal & General 2024 full year results, 12 March 2025
5 Greggs interim results, 29 July 2025
Important information - investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Reference to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities and is included for the purposes of illustration only. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.
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