UK stocks have had a remarkably strong year. After living in the shadow of US growth-focused indices during the AI boom, the defensive attributes of UK stocks led to outperformance of the FTSE 100 in the early stages of 2025.
Trade tariffs and geopolitical concerns drove investors into safe-haven shares, which London has in abundance.
“Fund managers have enjoyed a favourable environment in 2025, with a decent showing across UK stocks in general. The FTSE 100 has just hit another new record high and some of the biggest stocks have delivered supersized rewards for investors,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
“Ten stocks in the FTSE 100 have generated total returns above 50% year-to-date, half of which have more than doubled investors’ money since 1 January, including miner Fresnillo and defence group Babcock.”
UK-focused fund managers have, of course, benefited from the buoyant conditions for London-listed stocks, and many have taken the opportunity to demonstrate the value of an active approach to fund management by outperforming the benchmark.
Here are the top ten performing UK All companies of 2025 so far.
| Top 10 best performing UK All Companies funds year-to-date | ||
| Fund | Type | Total return |
| SVS Zeus Dynamic Opportunities | Active | 28.4% |
| Artemis SmartGARP UK Equity | Active | 27.7% |
| Ninety One UK Special Situations | Active | 23.4% |
| Dimensional UK Value | Active | 22.6% |
| Artemis UK Select | Active | 22.1% |
| Brompton UK Recovery | Active | 20.6% |
| First Trust United Kingdom AlphaDEX ETF | Passive | 20.5% |
| Invesco FTSE RAFI UK 100 ETF | Passive | 19.8% |
| Redwheel UK Climate Engagement | Active | 19.5% |
| Invesco UK Enhanced Index | Active | 19.1% |
| FTSE All-Share (benchmark for UK stock market) | 16.6% | |
| Source: AJ Bell, FE Fund Analytics. Total return data 1 January to 30 September 2025. | ||