The most popular investments in 2025 among Bestinvest clients
While the dominant structural theme for global equities has been Artificial Intelligence, gold was the biggest winner in 2025. This was also a year when, for a change, the Rest of the World delivered better returns than the US equity market. Against that backdrop, what did Bestinvest clients buy the most?
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Written by Jason Hollands
Published on 15 Dec 20253 minute read
Key themes in 2025
Looking back, the key themes that loomed over markets in 2025 were, firstly, politics with the return of Donald Trump to the White House. There is never a dull day under this administration. We’ve had a major shake-up of the global trade system, expansionary fiscal policy that will likely lead to a higher deficit, the longest government shutdown in US history as well as unprecedented political pressure on the US Federal Reserve.
This also led to a weaker Dollar, which proved a headwind for UK-based investors with US and global funds this year but, more positively, has helped inject new vigour into emerging markets strengthening their currencies and reducing the cost of servicing debts borrowed in Dollars.
The dominant structural theme in global equities has of course been Artificial Intelligence. This has seen vast amounts of CAPEX pouring into AI infrastructure, rapid earnings growth and rocketing market-capitalisations at the ‘Big Tech’ giants. This in turn has led to extreme concentration in the US equity market and global indices.
Growing concerns about government debt burdens have also been a factor on this side of the Atlantic too, including the UK and France, leading to higher long-term yields. In the UK, the unwillingness of Labour MPs to support spending cuts has seen the tax burden rise to a record level, which is going to have a brake effect on growth.
Geopolitical risks were also ever present, with conflicts in both the Middle East and ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. With the need to rearm and the US no longer seen as a reliable ally, major increases in defence spending by European NATO countries have been very rewarding for investors in defence stocks.
Despite this ‘wall of worries’, the US economy proved more resilient than many anticipated and recession fears have faded. Inflation has remained sticky but has not been as resurgent as feared.
In fact, overall, 2025 has been a fantastic year for investors. Despite AI being the most talked of theme in the markets this year, it was certainly not the only game in town. Gold was the biggest winner with prices surging by ~51% in GBP since the start of the year, and it is notable that three of the most bought exchange traded products on Bestinvest were gold ETFs. But – with the notable exception of India - returns across the major equity regions have been very strong in 2025, outpacing the US. 2025 was a year when, for a change, the Rest of the World delivered better returns than the US equity market.
What investments did Bestinvest clients buy the most in 2025?
We’ve crunched the numbers and rounded up what proved to be the most popular investments amongst Bestinvest clients this year.
We’ve updated our best selling assets page for the full year roundup of 2025 but you can also see the lists below.
These lists are provided for information purposes only. They should not be taken as a personal recommendation and are not intended to provide advice. You should carry out their own research and get financial advice before investing if unsure.
Top 10 most purchased Funds on Bestinvest in 2025*
- Fidelity Index World Fund
- Artemis UK Select Fund
- TM Natixis Loomis Sayles US Equity Leaders Fund
- Fundsmith Equity Fund
- Legal & General Global Technology Index Trust
- Vanguard FTSE Developed World ex UK Equity Index Fund
- Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity Fund
- HSBC Index Tracker Investment Funds - American Index Fund
- Legal & General US Index Trust
- Artemis Global Income Fund
* The above table excludes four Ready-Made Portfolios which were among the most purchased investments. These are multi-asset fund of funds run by our parent company Evelyn Partners and are aimed at investors who prefer to have a fully managed portfolio.
Ready-Made Portfolios which featured in the Top 10 were:
- Evelyn Growth Portfolio
- Evelyn Adventurous Portfolio
- Evelyn Maximum Growth Portfolio
- Evelyn Smart Maximum Growth
Top 10 most purchased Shares on Bestinvest in 2025
- Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC
- NVIDIA Corp
- Legal & General Group PLC
- BAE Systems PLC
- BP PLC
- Taylor Wimpey PLC
- Tesla Inc
- Aviva PLC
- HSBC Holdings PLC
- MicroStrategy Inc
Top 10 most purchased Investment Trusts on Bestinvest in 2025
- Temple Bar Investment Trust
- Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust
- JP Morgan Global Growth & Income
- Allianz Technology Trust PLC
- Polar Capital Technology Trust
- Greencoat UK Wind PLC
- City of London Investment Trust
- F&C Investment Trust PLC
- Renewables Infrastructure Group Ltd
- Alliance Witan PLC
Top 10 most purchased Exchange Traded Funds and Commodities on Bestinvest in 2025
- Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF
- Invesco Physical Gold ETC
- iShares Physical Gold ETC
- Vanguard FTSE-All-World UCITS ETF
- iShares Physical Silver ETC
- SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF
- iShares PLC - iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF
- Wisdom Tree Physical Gold ETC
- WisdomTree Physical Silver
- iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF
Source
Bestinvest: Top 10 data is based on the number of buys from Bestinvest clients from 1 January – 5 December 2025.