What investment trusts did investors buy in January?

When we named the funds that were most popular with Fidelity personal investors in January we noted that cash and American stocks (bought via global funds or specifically US-focused ones) dominated. Looking at the top-10 best-selling investment trusts over the same period, global and American funds also featured heavily, as well as trusts that invest in Britain and others that focus on infrastructure.

Global and US trusts

Four trusts that invest globally featured in the top 10. Scottish Mortgage took the top spot, while JPMorgan Global Growth & Income was in fourth place, F&C in seventh position and Polar Capital Technology Trust in 10th. Although the latter is, naturally, focused on tech stocks, the three others also have appreciable holdings in the sector. All feature Nvidia, Amazon and Meta (Facebook) among their top 10 holdings, while Scottish Mortgage and F&C both have Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and the JPM trust and F&C both have Microsoft in the top 10. Scottish Mortgage also has Tesla and F&C has Apple in its top 10.

Meanwhile, as with the open-ended funds we named in our other article, these four global trusts are, for the present at least, heavily biased towards American stocks. The percentages of their assets currently in US shares are 50.2% for Scottish Mortgage, 75.4% for JPM Global G&I, 65.6% for F&C and 78.9% for Polar Capital Technology.

The one 100% US-focused trust to feature among Fidelity customers’ favourites in January was JPMorgan American in sixth position.

UK trusts

Fidelity Special Values and City of London, both of which focus on London-listed shares, featured on our top 10 list in second and ninth positions respectively. ‘Contrarian’ investors may have been attracted by the London market’s cheapness, at least relative to the US.

Infrastructure trusts

Two funds that own infrastructure assets featured among Fidelity customers’ most popular investment trusts in January: International Public Partnerships (third position) and Greencoat UK Wind (eighth). The former, which features on our Select 50 list of favourite funds and, thanks to its domicile in Guernsey, can be bought without stramp duty, invests in a diverse range of infrastructure sectors, including energy transmission, transport and education, and in a wide variety of jurisdictions, such as the UK, the EU, Australia and the US. It is also one of my colleague’s Tom Stevenson’s fund picks for 2025

Greencoat UK Wind, by contrast, specialises in wind farms in the UK. The two trusts currently yield 5.9% and 7% respectively (yields are not guaranteed).

One China trust

The final listed fund to feature on our list is Fidelity China Special Situations in fifth position. Customers may have been prompted to invest by the Chinese lunar new year, which fell on 29 January.

Top 10 best-selling investment trusts on Fidelity Personal Investing in January 2025

1. Scottish Mortgage
2. Fidelity Special Values
3. International Public Partnerships
4. JPMorgan Global Growth & Income
5. Fidelity China Special Situations
6. JPMorgan American
7. F&C Investment Trust
8. Greencoat UK Wind
9. City of London Investment Trust
10. Polar Capital Technology Trust

Source: Fidelity International. Gross investment trust sales in January 2025 for Personal Investors only.

Important information - - investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. Overseas investments will be affected by movements in currency exchange rates. Investments in emerging markets can be more volatile than other more developed markets. The shares in these investment trusts are listed on the London Stock Exchange and their price is affected by supply and demand. Investment trusts can gain additional exposure to the market, known as gearing, potentially increasing volatility. 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.