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

March was a volatile month for investors, as markets were buffeted by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran. By the end of the month, it was still unclear how long the war would last, the enduring impact on energy prices, and the collateral damage in terms of inflation

Overall, the S&P 500

Regions seen as most vulnerable to an energy shock were the hardest hit. India and parts of Asia, particularly dependent on imported fossil fuels, saw the steepest falls. The average fund in the IA India sector dropped 7.4%, while Asia Pacific and China funds were also weak. Inevitably, this affected emerging market indices. The MSCI Emerging Market index was down 13.3% over the month[1].

European and UK markets fell somewhere in between. In the UK, smaller companies were hit hard by the volatility in borrowing costs. The gilt yield

Bond markets proved even more volatile than equity

At the end of the month, markets were none the wiser on the outlook, and still seemed surprisingly inclined to believe the contradictory briefings from the White House. Markets were in a holding pattern, unable to make progress without a clearer indication of the trajectory of the Iran crisis.

After a relatively upbeat February, investors turned distinctly bearish in March in response to the Middle Eastern conflict. Four of the top 10 best-selling funds on the Fidelity platforms were cash or money market funds, while the Royal London short-term Money Market fund was the top seller on the ii platform.

Where investors were willing to look through the crisis, they tended to gravitate to balanced global funds, including Fidelity Global Dividend and Artemis Global Income. Funds based on diversified global indices were also popular – the L&G International Index Trust, the Vanguard Global All Cap Index fund and the Fidelity Index World fund.

Investors showed relatively little appetite for single country funds or funds focused on a single sector. The UBS S&P 500 and L&G US index fund on the HL platform were the rare exceptions, while the L&G Global Technology index trust appeared on the ii platform.

It was a tougher time for the gold price, which struggled as investors anticipated higher interest rates and a stronger Dollar. Nevertheless, investors were still happy to continue to buy the Jupiter Gold & Silver fund. Precious metals have been an effective hedge against geopolitical tension historically, but gold tends to perform less well in an environment of higher interest rates and inflation. The price had recovered somewhat by the end of the month as the Dollar and government bond yields stabilised.

Investment Trust investors stuck with what they knew in March. They set aside the current volatility

Perhaps more surprising was the enduring popularity of Greencoat Wind, a top seller on every platform in spite of a horrible run of performance for the Trust. There is a possibility that the renewable energy infrastructure sector, where Trusts still trade on huge discounts

Investors keen to hedge their portfolios against more difficult market conditions have turned to the BlackRock World Mining trust, which appeared across the Fidelity, HL and ii platforms. Commodity exposure has provided a ballast to portfolios at times of geopolitical tension. That said, the BlackRock Trust has fallen over the past month, with its share price down 3.2%. Nevertheless, it is still up 11.4% in share price terms since the start of the year.

Investors have also been taking note of the strong performance of the Seraphim Space Investment Trust. It appeared on the 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.

Finally, the crisis in the Middle East did not seem to deter investors from emerging markets. Henderson Far East Income appeared on the ii, AJ Bell and HL platforms, while Fidelity China Special Situations retained its spot in the top 10 sellers on the Fidelity platform.

The wobbles in gold and silver prices did not deter ETF investors this month. The iShares Physical Silver and Physical Gold ETCs were both top sellers on all platforms. The gold price recovered towards the end of the month, but was still more than 8% lower than at the start of March. The silver price was around 13% lower.

S&P 500-focused ETFs, including the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF USD and Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD, were top sellers on all platforms, despite the relatively lacklustre performance of the US main index since the start of the year and the weakness of its dominant technology names.

There were signs that investors were looking for more defensive options, with the iShares Oil & Gas Exploration & Production UCITS ETF, Van Eck Defense UCITS ETF and VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders UCITS ETF all top sellers on the Fidelity platform. Though this needs to be set against the appearance of the high octane WisdomTree NASDAQ 100 3x Daily Leveraged ETF on the ii platform. Some investors still have some appetite for risk.

A final surprise was the popularity of FTSE 100 ETFs. The iShares Core FTSE 100 ETF appeared on all four platforms. The FTSE 100 index has had a strong run since the start of the year and has held up well during the recent crisis. It is up 5.1% since the start of the year.

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