What funds are our ISA and SIPP millionaires buying?

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.

Anyone that’s built a million pounds in their ISA or self-invested personal pension (SIPP) probably won’t be phased by a bit of turbulence in markets.

And that’s a good thing because, as the latest analysis of the portfolios of Fidelity clients with at least £1m held in an ISA or SIPP reveals, these investors have been particularly exposed to the recent sell-off in US shares.

Falls over the past month have resulted in around $4 trillion being wiped off the value of the market amid uncertainty over the extent of President Trump’s tariff war.  European stocks are holding steady by contrast. The FTSE 100 has largely held, while French and German stock markets have even risen. This is something of a reversal from the end of last year, where it looked like the US stock market was the place to be.

Where does it leave our most successful millionaire investors, and which funds have they been turning to?

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What are ISA millionaires buying?

Fidelity’s biggest ISA fund investors have leaned towards the US and tech stocks ​​this year. These have been the drivers behind the strong run for stock markets globally over the past two years and perhaps signify our ISA millionaires’ growth-focused approach.

Six of the 10 most popular funds purchased by our ISA investors were weighted at least 50% to US stocks. Several also have a strong focus on tech stocks, which are mostly listed in America.

Having performed so strongly up until this year, these are some of the types of stocks that have taken a knock in recent days.

And there may be another reason why recent volatility has dragged on the performance of our millionaire investors. Many funds labelled as global may be far more US-centric than investors realise. Investors buying several of these funds are also essentially buying the same stocks again and again. Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia were the three largest holdings of four of our ISA investors’ top 10 funds. It shows the importance of looking under the hood and properly diversifying.

The most purchased fund by our biggest ISA investors was the Legal & General Global Technology Index Trust, which focuses on tech stocks but has a strong US bias: 86%. Other global funds in our top 10 were UBS Global Enhanced Equity Income Fund, the Legal & General Global 100 Index Trust, Orbis OEIC Global Balanced Fund, and Fidelity Index World Fund. These are mostly also heavily US biased.

Three of our top 10 were also cash funds: the Legal & General Cash Trust, BlackRock Cash Fund, and the Fidelity Cash Fund. This perhaps reflects some of the uncertainty that investors have been feeling over the past year and a wariness of a heavy allocation towards equities.

Rounding up the top 10 was the Fidelity Index US Fund, which is entirely focused on American equities. However, its biggest holdings are very similar to several of the global funds our investors flocked to.

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What are SIPP millionaires buying?

Our biggest SIPP investors appeared a little more cautious than our ISA investors, not surprising given some will likely be approaching or even in retirement. The top two most-purchased funds were cash-based funds: Fidelity Cash Fund and the Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund. Another cash fund makes an appearance in our top 10 – Aberdeen Sterling Money Market Fund – while the Royal London Short Duration Gilts Fund was also a popular choice.

Of funds investing in equities, there were some crossovers with our ISA investors. The Fidelity Index World Fund and the Fidelity Index US Fund appeared on both lists. Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund appeared fifth in the list. Of the global funds which proved popular with our investors this one is slightly less US focused, with nearly 23% allocated to Europe and 7% to the UK.

The rest of the list was made up by two versions of Fidelity’s Multi Asset Allocator fund. The adventurous version - Fidelity Multi Asset Allocator Adventurous Fund (which has more of an emphasis on higher-risk assets like equities and emerging markets), proving more popular than the ‘strategic’ version - Fidelity Multi Asset Open Strategic Fund (which seeks to balance risk and reward more evenly and is more focused on government bonds). Then finally the Legal & General Global Equity Index Fund. This fund has more of a global spread than some others but still allocates nearly 70% of its holdings to the US. It’s top three holdings? You guessed it: Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft.

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Top 10 ISA funds

1. Legal & General Global Technology Index Trust
2. UBS Global Enhanced Equity Income Fund
3. Legal & General Cash Trust
4. BlackRock Cash Fund
5. Fidelity Index US Fund
6. Fidelity Multi Asset Open Strategic Fund
7. Legal & General Global 100 Index Trust
8. Orbis OEIC Global Balanced Fund
9. Fidelity Index World Fund
10. Fidelity Cash Fund  

Top 10 SIPP funds

1. Fidelity Cash Fund
2. Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund
3. Fidelity Index World Fund
4. Fidelity Index US Fund
5. Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund
6. Fidelity Multi Asset Allocator Adventurous Fund
7. Legal & General Global Equity Index Fund
8. Aberdeen Sterling Money Market Fund
9. Royal London Short Duration Gilts Fund
10. Fidelity Multi Asset Open Strategic Fund

Source: Fidelity International. Gross ISA and SIPP sales from 1.1.25 to 28.2.25 for Fidelity Personal Investors holding at least £1m in their portfolio.