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

Investors’ long-running love affair with technology finally started to wobble in January. Problems had been building for some time, and towards the end of the month, investors’ worries over the vast capital spending programmes spilled over into a real-time sell-off.

Hints that problems may be afoot started with Microsoft’s results at the end of the month. The technology giant reported a 66% rise in data centre spending as it sought to keep pace with the AI arms race. Its capital spending was $37.5bn in the three months to December alone. Despite strong earnings and forward guidance, markets sent the share price lower. This started a broader sell-off in the sector, accelerated by weaker guidance from groups such as AMD and Qualcomm.

There were also problems in other parts of the technology sector. The software sector has been wobbling for some time, seen as a potential casualty of any acceleration in artificial intelligence. This accelerated this month, drawing in UK companies such as Relx, Experian, and London Stock Exchange. The ‘software-magheddon’ has seen the S&P 500 Software & Services index fall 17.43% over the month[1].

The S&P 500 ended the month at 6,939[2], marginally up on the month. Other markets were far stronger. The FTSE 100 was up 2.9%[3], while the MSCI Europe index was also up 2.9%[4], well ahead of the return on the US-heavy MSCI World of 0.95%. Emerging markets had a very strong month, rising 8.9%[5], with particular strength in Latin America and in commodities.

It was a wild ride for the gold and silver prices. Both saw significant gains over the month – 29% for gold and 68% for silver. The catalyst appears to have being ongoing weakness in the Dollar, and their status as ‘safe haven’ assets at a time when the US was flexing its military muscle in Venezuela and Iran. However, by the end of the month, the appointment of the new Federal Reserve chair gave some reassurance that policymaking would not go awry, and both metals sold off again.

Bond markets were generally stable in spite of the ongoing geopolitical tensions. The US 10 year treasury started and ended the month at broadly the same level. The UK 10 year gilt was also stable. The only real excitement was to be found in Japan, where the decision by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to call a snap election sent long-dated bonds climbing and the yen soaring.

There were real signs that investors were starting to diversify away from their traditional reliance on the US stock markets and the technology sector over the month. Although the Fidelity Index World remained popular across all the platforms, investors showed a marked increase in interest in active funds. Only one S&P 500 tracker appeared in the best seller lists - the UBS S&P 500 Index on the Hargreaves Lansdown platform.

There was some evidence of caution in this month’s buying preferences. On the Fidelity platform, for example, the top selling fund was the Fidelity Cash fund, with two other cash-based funds appearing in the top 10. Investors were also turning to gold and silver funds, with the Jupiter Gold & Silver and

Ninety One Global Gold fund was among the top choices. However, this will have been an uncomfortable ride for investors over the past few weeks, as precious metals prices have bounced around.

There was also greater diversity of regional exposure. The Artemis SmartGARP European Equity fund made an appearance on the ii platform, while the Lazard Emerging Markets fund was a popular choice on the Fidelity platform. Emerging markets performed well in 2025 and appear to be carrying this momentum over to 2026. Global Emerging Markets is the third best-performing IA sector, with the average fund up 7.1% this year[6]. The UK-focused Fidelity Special Situations fund also made the best-seller lists.

Artemis Global Income fund continued the momentum it had seen in previous months. It is top quartile in its sector over one, three and five years[7]. The fund is relatively lowly weighted in US equities, and swerves the ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks that make up a significant share of other global funds, preferring companies such as Siemens Energy and Samsung Electronics.

Scottish Mortgage continued its popularity in January, taking the 1st or 2nd slot on every platform. The Trust has had a more difficult period of relative performance since the start of the year, as it been caught up in weakness for the technology sector. Nevertheless, it is still up over the month. The Polar Capital Technology fund was also popular, appearing on all except the AJ Bell platform.

The BlackRock World Mining trust appeared on the best seller lists for all except the Hargreaves Lansdown platform. Commodities have been in the spotlight as Donald Trump has intervened in Venezuela and Iran. Precious metals also had a strong month, albeit with significant volatility. This has seen strong performance from natural resources-focused trusts and drawn investor attention.

The Seraphim Space Investment trust appeared on the Hargreaves Lansdown and ii platforms. Investors may have been drawn by a strong recent bounce in performance. The trust, which invests in satellite technology, is up 179.4% over three years. It is a natural beneficiary of capital coming out of the technology sector and looking for alternative high growth options.

Investors’ interest in emerging markets was also evident in the investment trust sector. The Fidelity China Special Situations fund was a top seller on the Fidelity platform, while Henderson Far East Income and JP Morgan Emerging Markets Growth & Income were both best sellers on the Hargreaves Lansdown platform. These more eclectic options took their place alongside some of the familiar favourites, such as City of London, F&C, and Temple Bar.

ETF investors were chasing the giddy gains in the precious metals sector in January. The iShares Physical Silver and Physical Gold funds were top sellers across all four platforms as investors watched the astonishing rise of precious metals over the month. However, the enthusiasm for gold and silver shifted significantly on news of the new Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, who was seen as a reliable and pragmatic choice. Silver and gold dropped precipitously – at one point, silver was down 27%, while gold recorded its sharpest one day drop since 1983 [8].

Equally, ETF investors showed no signs of cooling on US stock markets. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF still appeared on all four platforms, while the Vanguard FTSE All World fund was also popular. There were only tentative signs that investors were starting to diversify to other markets. The SSGA SPDR Europe ETF, for example, appeared on the Fidelity platform.

While precious metals garnered the most investor interest, the Global X ETFs Copper Miners appeared on the Hargreaves Lansdown platform. Copper is a vital metal for the energy transition and copper prices have been rising steadily since August last year. Investors may have spotted a less crowded area of commodities markets.

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