Fund selector favourites: Top fund picks from the experts

One of the most common questions we get is “What are the best funds out there?” This is a pretty difficult question to answer and depends on what you want. To make an income? To shoot the lights out? To beat inflation? And over what timeframe? With 1,000s of funds out there, choosing which ones to back is no mean feat.

We always find it interesting to look at what people who do this for a living think. The professional fund selectors. Which funds do they like? Who do they rate? But of course, no one is infallible and we all make mistakes. There can be comfort in numbers so we have trawled through the fund shortlists on 6 leading UK platforms -which between them account for more than 70% of all DIY investors’ money in the UK - to look for their favourites.

We should note that these lists are not about picking the funds which will make the money over a given timeframe. They are selecting funds which will do different things, and behave differently – but aim to deliver the fund’s objective in a robust and reliable way. Do have a look at the factsheet for any given fund, and make sure the objective and the risk profile align with what you are looking for.

Fund Selectors’ Favourite Seven Funds

The table below shows the seven funds which get a nod from 4 or 5 investment teams, winning them the consensus vote.

Sources: ii Super 60 investment Portfolio Ideas[1], Guide to the Best™ Funds List[2], Barclays Funds List[3], The Wealth Shortlist, Hargreaves Lansdown[4], AJ Bell Favourite funds[5], and Select 50 Funds from Fidelity[6].

BlackRock Continental European Income deserves an honourable mention, getting a nod from 5 out of the 6 platforms we cover. This fund has returned about 11% over the last 12 months, has 18% allocated to France and 18% to Germany, and largely backs construction & materials, pharma & biotech and banking & finance. It is obviously of interest to those looking for an income from their portfolios (it pays an annual ‘yield’ of about 3.2% based on today’s prices) and will offer some diversification from global growth funds. Its top holding is SAP SE, which is a software company from Germany whose cloud business has sent its revenues surging.

Then we have a group of funds which make it onto 4 of the 6 preferred fund shortlists. These funds offer access to European, Asia Pacific, the UK and global markets. Fidelity Index World is super popular with both retail investors and fund selectors alike – it could be a core part of any investment portfolio, offering low-cost access to over 1,000 companies from around the globe. I have this in my ISA as a core holding and an easy, lazy way to get diversified exposure to global growth,

Liontrust UK Growth is also interesting. The fund’s biggest sector is industrials & healthcare, followed by consumer discretionary, and energy. The top 3 holdings are AstraZeneca, Shell and Unilever.

The second tier of favourite funds

There’s a longer list of funds which are favoured by 3 out of the 6 platforms. There is a good mix of passive and active options here, as well as bond funds and Asian share funds. See the table below.

Sources: ii Super 60 investment Portfolio Ideas[1], Guide to the Best™ Funds List[2], Barclays Funds List[3], The Wealth Shortlist, Hargreaves Lansdown[4], AJ Bell Favourite funds[5], and Select 50 Funds from Fidelity[6].

Japan gets a few showings, and this market has done well over the last year, with the Nikkei 225 Index increasing by over 20%. The iShares Japan Equity Index fund is a low-cost way to access the 496 large and mid-cap stocks in the FTSE Japan Index.

When looking at funds, if you want to know how volatile the ride might be, I look at the ‘drawdown’ figure. This basically measures the difference between the best day in any period and the worst day in any period – so you know how much any fund might jump up and down. For this Japan Equity fund, it is about -24% over the last year. 24% is quite hardcore – and could be a fund falling from 100p to 76p, for example, before rising up to above 100p again. I think the drawdown number gives you a good sense of how bumpy the ride might be, and it’s used by the industry as a measure of downside volatility.

Although it’s volatile, Japan has been a pretty good performer of late. Returning 16% over the last 12 months, the main holdings in the iShares Japan Equity Index fund include Toyota, Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Sony.

Finally, an option which will suit someone purposefully after less excitement, Troy Trojan has a good reputation and its investment objective is to seek to achieve growth in capital (after fees), ahead of inflation over the longer term (5 to 7 years). This may suit people who are more worried about keeping their money and its purchasing power, in a more predictable and less risky fund than a pure share fund.

55% of the fund is allocated to the US, 25% to the UK and 57% is in bonds and 13% in commodities. Its largest holdings are currently US Government bonds and gold. About 5% is in Unilever stock, so it’s a mixed bag. This option is very much one for people who are more worried about limiting the ups and downs, than wanting to make as much as possible.

A consensus view – helpful but not infallible

These lists are an interesting way to get an aggregated view of funds which have professional consensus behind them. Most fund analysis involves opinion and subjective calls, and people can get it wrong. But for those seeking to minimise the risk of picking a howler, I find these consensus views very helpful. If you want to do another layer of checks, try using Morningstar or Trustnet for an independent research firm’s view as well.

Fund information correct as of March 2025.

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[1] ii Super 60 investment Portfolio Ideas, ii, December 2024

[2] Guide to the Best™ Funds List , Bestinvest, December 2024

[3] Barclays Funds List, Barclays Smart Investor, December 2024

[4] The Wealth Shortlist, Hargreaves Lansdown, December 2024

[5] AJ Bell Favourite funds, AJ Bell, December 2024

[6] Select 50, Browse the Select 50 Funds, Fidelity, December 2024