Best-selling funds, Investment Trusts and ETFs of October 2025

Global stock markets shrugged off the impact of a US government shutdown in October, with lower inflation raising hopes of further interest rate cuts. The S&P 500

However, US markets noticeably lagged other markets. The S&P rose 2.3% over the month, but the MSCI Emerging Markets index saw gains of 4.2% over the same period[2]. The growth was driven by renewed strength in the Indian market, plus strong gains in AI-related markets such as Taiwan and South Korea.

Across the US and other AI-focused markets, there has been a growing drumbeat of concern over AI and the extent to which it is driving global economic growth. Calastone fund flow data revealed June to September as the worst quarter on record for equity

The Bank of England and the IMF have both warned on frothy AI valuations and made parallels with the Dotcom boom of the late 1990s. Even OpenAI boss Sam Altman said there were parts of the market that “could be seen as bubbly right now”[3]. However, markets only started to wobble at the start of November.

The large cap

One small piece of good news for both investors in UK gilts

There were some cracks in the precious metals story over the month. The gold price dropped significantly in the second half of October, falling from 4,350 to below 4,000. The drop was attributed to profit taking after some strong gains, but also the ongoing stabilisation of the dollar. Silver and platinum prices were also weak.

There were some hints of growing nerves over technology in platform sales data over the period. The Royal London Short Term Money Market fund was among the top 10 for fund sales across all four major investment platforms and the top seller on the AJ Bell and ii platforms. On Fidelity, it was only beaten by the Fidelity Cash fund. Half of the top 10 sellers on the Fidelity platform were cash-based funds.

Elsewhere, investors appeared to be looking to take risk off the table. A number of precious metals funds appeared in the mix – Jupiter Gold & Silver on the ii platform, and Ninety One Global Gold fund on Fidelity – in spite of a wobble for precious metals prices in the second half of the month. The Artemis Global Income fund also appeared on two out of the four platforms, as investors sought the cushion of a yield.

There were some old favourites. The Fidelity Index World was still a popular option, appearing across all four platforms, as was the Legal & General Global Technology index. However, the previously ubiquitous S&P 500 trackers were notable in their absence from this month’s best seller list, with none on the AJ Bell, Fidelity, or ii platforms.

Two extra active funds crept onto the lists this month. Canny investors have finally noticed the rally in parts of the UK market since the start of the year. The Fidelity Special Situations fund has delivered an almost identical return to the MSCI World index over the past three years, an astonishing achievement given that one is predominantly invested in US technology and the other is fishing in the much tougher UK market. The Rathbones Global Opportunities fund also made the AJ Bell best-seller list.

Investment Trust investors continued to expand their horizons in October, moving away from areas such as technology and AI to new areas of potential growth. Although Scottish Mortgage continued to be a best-seller on three platforms, it was a notable absentee on the Hargreaves Lansdown platform. Polar Capital Technology, a previous top seller, was also absent from the HL platform this month.

Asia drew investor attention as investors looked for AI opportunities outside the US. It was a particularly strong month for AI-focused Asian markets such as South Korea and Taiwan. The MSCI Korea rose 22.6% over the month[5], while the MSCI Taiwan rose 9.8%[6]. It was a tougher month for Chinese equities, in spite of a rapprochement with the US on tariffs. Nevertheless, the Fidelity China Special Situations fund was the top seller on the Fidelity platform, while Henderson Far East Income was the top seller on the Hargreaves Lansdown platform. Both funds also appeared on the ii best seller list as well.

Investor enthusiasm for precious metals and mining shares was not dimmed by a wobble in commodity prices in the second half of the month. The BlackRock World Mining fund was a top choice on the AJ Bell platform, while the Golden Prospect Precious Metals fund appears on the ii list.

There was also an urge to diversify. On the Hargreaves Lansdown and ii platforms, renewable energy infrastructure was a popular choice – including NextEnergy Solar, Octopus Renewables Infrastructure, Foresight Solar, and Greencoat UK Wind. European trusts also showed strength, with the Fidelity European trust appearing on both the AJ Bell and Fidelity platforms.

J.P. Morgan Investment Trusts

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Capital at risk.

Precious metals continued to be popular with investors. The iShares Physical Gold ETF appeared across all four platforms, as did the iShares Physical Silver ETF. The Global X Silver Miners was also popular on the ii and Hargreaves Lansdown platforms, while the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF was a top seller on the Fidelity and Hargreaves Lansdown platforms.

ETFs based on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices continued to be popular on the AJ Bell platform. The Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF also appeared on the Hargreaves Lansdown and ii platforms. However, there were no US-focused ETFs on the Fidelity platform, and it is notable that the iShares MSCI World ex-USA ETF was a top-seller. This suggests investors may be cooling on US markets.

There is still an appetite for niche parts of the technology industry. The VanEck Uranium And Nuclear Technologies UCITS ETF, Ark Artificial Intelligence & Robotics UCITS ETF, VanEck Defense ETF and VanEck Crypto & Blockchain Innovators ETF were also among the best-sellers.

On the AJ Bell platform, the Vanguard FTSE 250 ETF made an appearance. The UK mid caps have been significantly out of favour, in spite of strength among FTSE 100 companies. The sector now looks very cheap and is due a shift in sentiment. This may be a very early sign that investors are starting to look at UK mid caps again.