The shares and funds investors loved buying in 2024

There is always a lot of coverage on what professional investors are buying and selling, but the inclinations of private investors do not feature quite as prominently. While “popular” certainly does not equate to “good”, sneaking a peak into the minds of your peers can offer food for thought.

It’s with this spirit that we look at data on the most bought stocks, investment trusts and funds on DIY platforms in 2024. There are some discrepancies in the way the data is collected – some platforms published lists a few days before the end of the year; some look at net buys, while others just list the most bought assets without accounting for sales – but overall, they are a good indicator of what private investors were thinking last year.

Stocks-wise, it was a good mix of usual suspects and newcomers. Nvidia (US:NVDA) was the most bought stock on AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor, and the second most bought on Bestinvest. This is hardly surprising given the company’s phenomenal growth and the centrality of the artificial intelligence theme over the past couple of years.

Just like last year, Legal & General (LGEN) featured prominently on the lists, and was the most bought on Bestinvest and Fidelity for individual savings accounts (Isas), the second most bought on Hargreaves Lansdown and the third on AJ Bell. BP (BP.) also proved popular.

Aside from Nvidia, the Magnificent Seven stocks feature less than you might expect, with only Tesla (US:TSLA) and Microsoft (US:MSFT) making the occasional appearance. Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said that while Amazon (US:AMZN) narrowly missed a spot on the platform’s list and Meta (US:META) wasn’t too far behind, Apple (US:AAPL) was firmly out of favour and actually one of the stocks with the biggest net sells; Alphabet (US:GOOG) and Tesla were also relatively unpopular. “This suggests investors are being more discerning with their exposure to the tech sector and no longer assume that biggest equals best,” he noted.

A surprising new entry was MicroStrategy (US:MSTR), which was the third most popular on Hargreaves Lansdown and the fourth on AJ Bell. This US software company owns so much bitcoin that it has become a proxy for investing in crypto – particularly within Isas or pensions, where crypto is not allowed, notes Coatsworth. The company’s share price has increased more than fivefold over the past year. 

Funds and investment trusts

In the funds space, the advance of passive appeared to continue. For example, among the top 10 most popular open-ended equity funds on AJ Bell, only one was actively run.

This was Jupiter India (GB00B4TZHH95), which also featured on all the other platforms’ lists. Victoria Hasler, head of fund research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that the fund has been “a constant in the top 10 list throughout most of the year”. But she cautioned: “This market has had an extraordinarily good run over 2024, but whether returns will continue at this pace seems unlikely.”

Fundsmith Equity (GB00B41YBW71) remained fairly popular, featuring in the top lists by Hargreaves Lansdown (active funds only), Interactive Investor and Bestinvest. But unlike in 2023, it wasn’t the most bought on any of the platforms, following a period of underperformance.

As for investment trusts, JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (JGGI) emerged as a clear favourite across platforms, while Scottish Mortgage was a top choice among Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown customers. Coatsworth noted that while the two have posted similar 10-year returns, the first “is arguably a lower-risk investment” because it has no exposure to unquoted companies. It also offers “a much more generous income stream”.

Other popular trusts across the board included UK equity income play City of London (CTY), the recently merged global equity giant Alliance Witan (ALW), and Greencoat UK Wind (UKW).