Best-selling funds, Investment Trusts and ETFs of April 2026

Volatility is becoming familiar to investors. In April, markets continued to be buffeted by the uncertainty surrounding the Iran crisis. However, the overall direction was positive, with the technology sector showing a significant revival over the month. In particular, the AI infrastructure groups rallied as the US technology giants extended their spending plans.

By the end of the month, investors were none the wiser about the ultimate outcome of the war. There had been various ceasefire agreements, broken by attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The oil price crept higher over the month, hovering persistently at $100 a barrel. However, markets had decided that they didn’t mind very much.

Share prices have been supported by a string of good corporate earnings announcements. According to market data group Factset, with 63% of S&P 500 companies having reported results, 84% have reported a positive earnings per share surprise and 81% have reported a positive revenue surprise[1]. There has been particular strength in financials and technology.

Overall, the S&P 500 rose 10.5% over the month, fuelled by the technology giants. Nvidia saw a significant bounce in its share price, though this was losing steam towards the end of the month. The MSCI World index

Within emerging markets, it was the Asian AI infrastructure companies powering indices higher. That included TSMC and Samsung. JPMorgan points out that the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose by close to 40% over the month, with extraordinary gains in Taiwanese (+26.2%) and South Korean (+38.2%) markets.

It was a more pedestrian month for the UK markets. The FTSE 100

Bond markets continued to be weak as investors tried to decide whether inflation or economic weakness was the most likely outcome of the Iran crisis. All the major central banks kept their interest rates on hold, saying that it was too soon to tell whether interest rates would be required. This did relatively little to calm bond markets and yields

The UK 10 year gilt

At the end of the month, the Iran crisis was no closer to a resolution, but markets appeared to have discounted it. Instead, investors have chosen to focus on corporate earnings. Nevertheless, the rally remains fragile and vulnerable to energy prices ratcheting higher.

Investors continued to be relatively bearish in April, even if markets had decided that there was nothing to worry about. Three of the top 10 best-selling funds on the Fidelity platforms were cash or money market funds

Investors continued to stick to global equity exposure, rather than taking any major bets on regional indices. The Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap index and the FTSE Index World funds both appeared on all four platforms. These funds tend to have higher weightings in the US and in the technology sector, so they performed well over the month.

Where investors chose active funds, they tended to prefer income strategies. Fidelity Global Dividend and Artemis Global Income were both popular options. These tend to sit well alongside index funds

While investors continued to show little enthusiasm for single country or regional funds, the two exceptions were the Fidelity Special Situations fund and the Lazard Emerging Markets fund. The Fidelity fund has had a strong run of recent performance, rising 52.3% in the last three years. The Lazard fund has also been strong, up 83.7% over three years. Emerging markets had a particularly good year in 2025 and remain among the top performing markets for the year to date.

Technology funds continue to appear among the best seller lists. The L&G Global Technology Index fund featured on the AJ Bell, Fidelity and ii platforms. The recent strong performance of the sector may have encouraged investor interest.

Investment Trust investors were willing to be more adventurous in April, with technology Trusts, Asian Trusts and even space exploration Trusts appearing in the most popular lists. These sat aside the familiar Trusts such as Scottish Mortgage, Greencoat UK Wind, and City of London, which continued their enduring appeal for investors.

Polar Capital Technology Trust will celebrate its 30th anniversary in December this year. Its popularity saw it promoted to the FTSE 100 in 2025 and it remains a default choice for many investors looking for diversified technology exposure. It currently holds around 10% in Nvidia, but also has large weightings in TSMC, Alphabet, and Apple.

Investors have also been taking an interest in the Seraphim Space Investment Trust. The Trust recently launched a ‘c’ share class offer, looking to raise a further £350m to invest in new opportunities. The offer is open to existing institutional and retail shareholders and may have helped improve demand for the shares. It appeared on the AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and ii platforms this month. The Trust has a number of defence and security holdings that have helped to support its share price amid the turmoil.

Greencoat Wind has remained a popular choice in recent months, despite a difficult run of performance. There are signs that investors are returning to the renewable energy sector in the wake of the recent energy crisis. Share prices have been improving over the past few months, and the Renewables Infrastructure Group was a top-seller on the ii platform. It may be the start of a much-needed renaissance for these Trusts, which have been very out of favour.

Investors also showed support for Asian-focused Trusts. Henderson Far East Income, Fidelity China Special Situations and Schroder Oriental Income fund were all popular this month. Asian stock markets have been strong, particularly markets exposed to the semiconductor supply chain, such as Korea or Taiwan.

There was a note of caution creeping into ETF holdings in April. The Amundi Smart Overnight Return UCITS ETF – a money market fund linked to money market rates – appeared on the ii and Fidelity platforms, suggesting investors were feeling more cautious about the direction of markets. The iShares £ Ultrashort Bond UCITS ETF also suggested investors were looking for more cautious options.

The enthusiasm for gold and silver has also sagged as the prices for both metals have slipped. Gold ETCs still appeared on all four platforms, but in fewer numbers than at the start of this year. Gold has not hedged portfolios as hoped in the recent sell-off.

S&P 500-focused ETFs, including the USD and GBP versions of the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF remained top sellers across all platforms. The stronger performance of the US markets after a lacklustre start to the year will have been welcome. Technology was also popular. VanEck Semiconductor featured on three of the four platforms, as investors started to prioritise the infrastructure companies benefiting from AI.

The defence and aerospace ETFs were notably absent from the best-seller list this month. The sector lagged the major indices in April, and investors may have decided that it has run far enough for the time being.

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