Most bought funds by HL investors in Q3

Hargreaves Lansdown investors have piled into US and technology funds amid the market recovery from the tariff-induced sell-off, according to the latest data released by the platform this week.

Funds that focus on US equities were clear favourites among HL investors who clearly saw a bargain in the world’s largest companies in the third quarter. That bet has paid off with the S&P 500 adding more than 30% since its April low.

“The risk-on sentiment following the Liberation Day losses back in April has continued, with US tariff uncertainty reducing over Q3, providing a tailwind for US and Global stock markets, many of which have hit new all-time highs over the quarter. The AI theme also continues to dominate market returns, with share prices of the big tech players in this space rising further,” said Joseph Hill, senior investment analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“In this environment, it’s no surprise that Q3 saw HL investors return to old favourites, with funds with a global, US or technology focus dominating the most popular choices across different ISA accounts.”

Hill also highlighted that HL investors had a propensity to opt for passive options with just one fund of the top ten bought funds being actively managed.

“The trend towards passive investing also continued, with 9 of the top 10 funds bought by HL clients in Stocks & Shares ISAs, Junior ISAs and Lifetime ISAs being passive. The low fees associated with passive funds continue to prove attractive to retail investors purely looking for broad market returns,” Hill said.

“Artemis Global Income was the sole active fund to feature in the most popular funds with HL clients in Q3 across the different types of ISA accounts.”