A total of 50 investment trusts would have made investors more than £1 million if they had invested the full annual ISA allowance in the same trust each year, according to new research from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC)1.
Investing the full ISA allowance annually from 1999 to 2024, a total of £326,560, and reinvesting the dividends would have generated a tax-free pot of over £2 million by 31 January 2025 when investing in any of the top four performers, Allianz Technology Trust, HgCapital Trust, Polar Capital Technology and Scottish Mortgage.
Technology is a strong theme among the top four trusts, with the fifth investing in North America. Allianz Technology Trust and Polar Capital Technology, which both invest in a global portfolio of technology companies, returned £2,936,182 and £2,696,343 respectively. HgCapital Trust, which invests in unquoted software and technology services businesses, returned £2,789,473. Scottish Mortgage, a global trust with a growth-focused mandate, returned £2,335,775. JPMorgan American, which returned £1,902,265, invests mainly in North American quoted companies.
Two of the top four performers – HgCapital Trust and Scottish Mortgage – invest at least part of their portfolio in unquoted companies.
Among the 50 “ISA millionaire” investment trusts (see table below), 14 focus on smaller companies. Three of these investment trusts are from the Asia Pacific Smaller Companies sector, including the sixth best performing “ISA millionaire” trust abrdn Asia Focus which returned £1,792,184. A further three are from the European Smaller Companies sector, of which Montanaro European Smaller Companies is the best performing, returning £1,302,101. Five of these trusts are from the UK Smaller Companies sector with JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income performing best of these, returning £1,278,186.
The 50 “ISA millionaire” investment trusts
| Rank | Investment trust | AIC sector | % share price total return, 06/04/1999 to 31/01/2025 | Total ISA investment value at 31/01/2025 |
| 1 | Allianz Technology Trust | Technology & Technology Innovation | 2,669 | £2,936,182 |
| 2 | HgCapital Trust | Private Equity | 4,565 | £2,789,473 |
| 3 | Polar Capital Technology | Technology & Technology Innovation | 2,236 | £2,696,343 |
| 4 | Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust | Global | 1,967 | £2,335,775 |
| 5 | JPMorgan American | North America | 1,214 | £1,902,265 |
| 6 | abrdn Asia Focus | Asia Pacific Smaller Companies | 4,459 | £1,792,184 |
| 7 | Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies | Asia Pacific Smaller Companies | 4,535 | £1,752,157 |
| 8 | JPMorgan Global Growth & Income | Global Equity Income | 1,153 | £1,576,124 |
| 9 | Pacific Horizon Investment Trust | Asia Pacific | 2,564 | £1,446,060 |
| 10 | JPMorgan US Smaller Companies | North American Smaller Companies | 1,608 | £1,413,195 |
| 11 | International Biotechnology | Biotechnology & Healthcare | 2,139 | £1,398,167 |
| 12 | Worldwide Healthcare Trust | Biotechnology & Healthcare | 2,201 | £1,333,068 |
| 13 | Fidelity European Trust | Europe | 1,900 | £1,322,452 |
| 14 | Herald Investment Trust | Global Smaller Companies | 1,035 | £1,302,252 |
| 15 | Montanaro European Smaller Companies | European Smaller Companies | 1,121 | £1,302,101 |
| 16 | Mid Wynd International | Global | 1,336 | £1,301,629 |
| 17 | The European Smaller Companies Trust | European Smaller Companies | 1,051 | £1,295,133 |
| 18 | JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income | UK Smaller Companies | 1,430 | £1,278,186 |
| 19 | JPMorgan European Discovery | European Smaller Companies | 1,929 | £1,272,189 |
| 20 | F&C Investment Trust | Global | 867 | £1,271,372 |
| 21 | Canadian General Investments | North America | 1,559 | £1,270,532 |
| 22 | BlackRock Throgmorton Trust | UK Smaller Companies | 1,261 | £1,243,218 |
| 23 | BlackRock Smaller Companies | UK Smaller Companies | 1,201 | £1,237,287 |
| 24 | JPMorgan Indian | India/Indian Subcontinent | 1,990 | £1,220,562 |
| 25 | ICG Enterprise Trust | Private Equity | 665 | £1,220,536 |
| 26 | Alliance Witan | Global | 697 | £1,208,458 |
| 27 | Law Debenture Corporation | UK Equity Income | 881 | £1,207,077 |
| 28 | Rights & Issues Investment Trust | UK Smaller Companies | 1,655 | £1,200,227 |
| 29 | Fidelity Special Values | UK All Companies | 1,919 | £1,198,034 |
| 30 | Invesco Asia Dragon* | Asia Pacific Equity Income | 1,133 | £1,196,213 |
| 31 | Brunner Investment Trust | Global | 665 | £1,195,367 |
| 32 | AVI Global Trust | Global | 1,639 | £1,183,941 |
| 33 | Monks Investment Trust | Global | 907 | £1,165,093 |
| 34 | Biotech Growth Trust | Biotechnology & Healthcare | 1,281 | £1,158,772 |
| 35 | Schroder Asian Total Return | Asia Pacific | 1,231 | £1,147,541 |
| 36 | Henderson European Trust | Europe | 846 | £1,146,372 |
| 37 | The Global Smaller Companies Trust | Global Smaller Companies | 1,197 | £1,139,490 |
| 38 | Schroder AsiaPacific Fund | Asia Pacific | 1,441 | £1,136,585 |
| 39 | abrdn UK Smaller Companies Growth | UK Smaller Companies | 651 | £1,129,455 |
| 40 | Fidelity Asian Values | Asia Pacific Smaller Companies | 851 | £1,128,271 |
| 41 | Finsbury Growth & Income Trust | UK Equity Income | 857 | £1,120,297 |
| 42 | Bankers Investment Trust | Global | 855 | £1,103,182 |
| 43 | Pantheon International | Private Equity | 1,049 | £1,076,230 |
| 44 | Mercantile Investment Trust | UK All Companies | 1,404 | £1,076,067 |
| 45 | JPMorgan Emerging Markets | Global Emerging Markets | 1,414 | £1,060,871 |
| 46 | BlackRock World Mining Trust | Commodities & Natural Resources | 1,805 | £1,030,713 |
| 47 | Martin Currie Global Portfolio | Global | 726 | £1,023,417 |
| 48 | JPMorgan European Growth & Income | Europe | 687 | £1,016,396 |
| 49 | Caledonia Investments | Flexible Investment | 1,023 | £1,010,065 |
| 50 | Pacific Assets Trust | Asia Pacific | 884 | £1,005,609 |
Source: theaic.co.uk / Morningstar. AIC members only, excluding VCTs and companies that are winding up. The column headed “% share price total return” shows the share price total return over the period based on a single lump sum investment on 06/04/1999. The column headed “total ISA investment value” is the total value of an investment on 31/01/2025 if the maximum ISA limit for each year had been invested annually from 1999 to 2024, with the investment being made on 6 April each year. *Performance record is for Invesco Asia, which merged with Asia Dragon on 13/02/2025.
Annabel Brodie-Smith, Communications Director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “Investment trusts’ long-term approach has delivered strong performance for investors over time. With their permanent capital structure, investment trusts can take a long-term view and are never forced sellers. This makes them particularly suitable for hard-to-sell assets like smaller companies and unquoted companies.
“History demonstrates the resilience of investment trusts, which have navigated numerous crises including two world wars, the financial crisis, the dotcom boom and bust and the pandemic over more than 155 years. While past performance is no guarantee of future returns, the structure of investment trusts offers a compelling approach for investors seeking to build long-term wealth amidst economic uncertainty.
“Our research shows that 50 investment trusts would have returned more than £1 million for ISA savers who invested their entire allowance each year since 1999 – with four returning more than £2 million. I’d emphasise that it’s vital to spread your risk when investing. A diversified portfolio of investment trusts and other assets which meet your needs is the best way to succeed over the long term. If investors are in doubt about which trust is right for them, it’s important to speak to a financial adviser.”
Comments from some of the top performers
Mike Seidenberg, Portfolio Manager of Allianz Technology Trust, said: “First, the team is flattered, and we take investing very seriously for our shareholders who are our customers. Second, the trust is run in a very collaborative manner and the kudos goes to the team not just me and without the daily interaction and collaboration, I don’t think we would have garnered the results over time. Our success is driven by a real passion for technology and understanding its importance in the world we live in which has been increasing since inception. Technology creates competitive differentiation in almost every industry today and this should continue going forward. Intellectual curiosity is another pillar of our success and the desire to understand the products is a key ingredient to investing in a company.
“Our relationships with management are another key differentiation point and our location in the San Francisco Bay Area facilitates this given the proximity of many technology companies. Identifying products solving difficult problems is something we pride ourselves on and helps to identify themes in the portfolio. Going forward, I am cautiously optimistic near term on technology and positive long term on this sector given its history of impactful sustainable innovation. I feel very fortunate investing in the technology sector.”
Jim Strang, Chairman of HgCapital Trust, said: “The board of HgCapital Trust (HgT) are very pleased to hear that investors allocating their full ISA allowance and investing in the shares of the company every year since 1999 would have amassed assets of nearly £2.8m today. The whole premise of the HgT investment model is that it is repeatable and scales. This result, achieved over more than 25 years, is testament to how well that model has been implemented by Hg, the manager of HgT. Continuing to deliver returns going forward will require focus, discipline, and continual improvement, all of which are deeply ingrained in the culture of HgT and the manager, Hg. We hope to do better next year.”Tom Slater, Manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, said: “The current pace and scale of global change are unparalleled. Companies that harness change – be it technological, scientific, societal, or commercial – can achieve remarkable growth. Our returns come from our ability to imagine the future potential of a select few companies and endure the inevitable ups and downs along their growth journey. Considering how businesses like SpaceX, Aurora, Joby Aviation and Tempus AI might transform the world in the next decade or two is a really exciting prospect
