Deciding which funds to invest in for 2026? Data from AJ Bell reveals that passive funds have been all the rage with investors on its DIY investment platform during 2025.
The list of the most popular funds of 2025 reflects a preference on the part of DIY investors for passive exposure to global markets as well as defensive assets like gold, though US stocks are still in vogue, with two of the top ten funds tracking the flagship S&P 500 index.
In the everlasting debate over passive vs active investing, DIY investors are showing a clear preference for passive funds.
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Seven of the ten most popular funds of 2025 were classified as passive.
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HSBC FTSE All World Index |
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Fidelity Index World |
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iShares Physical Gold ETF |
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L&G Global Technology Index Trust |
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Vanguard S&P 500 ETF |
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Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity |
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Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity |
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Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index |
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SSGA SPDR S&P 500 ETF |
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JPMorgan Global Growth & Income |
Based on £ net flows on AJ Bell’s DIY investor platform from 1 January 2025 to 2 December 2025.
“Tracker funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds) dominated the list of most popular funds as investors sought convenience and lower costs,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. “Rather than pay more for active management in the hope of outperformance, they’ve gone for the cheaper option to simply track the market.”
Of the three active funds that made the top ten, two (Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity and 100% Equity funds) have passive investments under the hood.
“They are only considered active funds because Vanguard is making active decisions about asset allocation, but it uses passive funds to get market exposure,” explained Coatsworth.
The only truly actively-managed strategy to make the top ten list was an investment trust, JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (LON:JGGI).
The most popular active and passive funds of 2025
During 2025, DIY investors mainly used passive funds to gain exposure to global stock market indices (including US and UK stocks), gold and technology.
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HSBC FTSE All World Index |
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Fidelity Index World |
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iShares Physical Gold ETF |
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L&G Global Technology Index Trust |
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Vanguard S&P 500 ETF |
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Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index |
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SSGA SPDR S&P 500 ETF |
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Vanguard FTSE All World |
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Vanguard FTSE 100 |
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UBS S&P 500 |
Based on £ net flows on AJ Bell’s DIY investor platform from 1 January 2025 to 2 December 2025.
“Tracking a global equities benchmark is a simple and low-cost way to invest. It’s like buying an assorted box of biscuits,” said Coatsworth. “Rather than spending ages in the supermarket choosing which brand or product type to buy, you just put the collection in your basket and get a multitude of different tastes and flavours.”
Investors’ choice of active funds, meanwhile, reflected demand for Vanguard’s LifeStrategy funds (which offer investors different weightings between equities and bonds, and as such convenient risk management for different stages of life).
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Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity |
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Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity |
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Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity |
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Royal London Short Term Money Market |
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Artemis Global Income |
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Blue Whale Growth |
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Polar Capital Global Technology |
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Fundsmith Equity |
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Rathbone Global Opportunities |
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Fidelity Global Technology |
Based on £ net flows on AJ Bell’s DIY investor platform from 1 January 2025 to 2 December 2025.
Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund, which like all money market funds offers cash-like risk and returns, came in above all funds outside the Vanguard LifeStrategy range – further underscoring the notion that investors have adopted a cautious, risk-averse approach this year.
The most popular investment trusts of 2025
According to AJ Bell’s data JPMorgan Global Growth & Income was the most popular investment trust of 2025 – and the only truly active strategy to make the top 10 funds across all categories – despite having underperformed the wider market this year, returning 2.6% compared to MSCI All Countries World index in pound terms.
Coatsworth highlighted that the trust has traded at a discount to its net asset value since the summer, having previously been at a premium.
“It adopted a more cautious tone earlier this year, which might have surprised some investors who thought the investment trust was a permabull,” he said.
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JPMorgan Global Growth & Income |
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City of London Investment Trust |
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Scottish Mortgage |
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F&C Investment Trust |
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Greencoat UK Wind |
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TwentyFour Select Monthly Income |
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Alliance Witan |
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Law Debenture |
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Henderson Far East Income |
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BlackRock World Mining Trust |
Based on £ net flows on AJ Bell’s DIY investor platform from 1 January 2025 to 2 December 2025.
Other popular trusts this year include stalwarts like City of London (LON:CTY) and Scottish Mortgage (LON:SMT).