Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, looks at some of the most popular funds chosen by advisers on the AJ Bell Investcentre platform in 2022:
“Advisers largely stuck with an active approach in clients’ portfolios in 2022 and with tried and trusted names, despite weaker performance from the likes of Fundsmith and Baillie Gifford. There’s a fairly broad range of regional equity funds at the top of the leaderboard, which shows that advisory investment models prefer to take a granular approach to asset allocation, rather than plumping for global funds where there is less control over geographical exposure.
“Bond funds have also proved popular with advisers in 2022, despite poor performance from this asset class. Bond yields are today much more attractive than they have been for some time, but there are still risks attached to the asset class stemming from inflation, which could continue to drive interest rates higher than expected, if it proves difficult for central banks to tame. In the UK government bond space, there will also be a significant amount of supply in the next twelve months from elevated government borrowing, alongside the unwinding of the Bank of England’s QE scheme, which could present further headwinds for the asset class.
“However, the lion’s share of advisory investment decisions are strategic in nature rather than tactical, and that will always tend to include some bond exposure, to accommodate the different risk profiles of advised clients, and to achieve some diversification from equities.”
20 most popular funds and trusts with advisers on the AJ Bell Investcentre platform in 2022
| FUNDSMITH EQUITY |
| VANGUARD LIFESTRATEGY |
| FIDELITY ASIA |
| JANUS HENDERSON STRATEGIC BOND |
| SCOTTISH MORTGAGE INVESTMENT TRUST |
| ARTEMIS CORPORATE BOND |
| BAILLIE GIFFORD AMERICAN |
| LINDSELL TRAIN UK EQUITY |
| VANGUARD FTSE UK ALL SHARE INDEX |
| PREMIER MITON US OPPORTUNITIES |
| BREWIN DOLPHIN MI SELECT ALTERNATIVES |
| BREWIN DOLPHIN MI SELECT BOND |
| STEWART ASIA PACIFIC LEADERS SUSTAINABILITY |
| BREWIN DOLPHIN MI SELECT UK EQUITY |
| RATHBONE ETHICAL BOND |
| BAILLIE GIFFORD MANAGED |
| ISHARES CORE GLOBAL AGGREGARE BOND ETF |
| BLACKROCK STERLING LIQUIDITY |
| BAILLIE GIFFORD JAPANESE |
| HSBC AMERICAN INDEX FUND |
Source: AJ Bell Investcentre, ranked by number of buys – 1 Jan 2022 to 9 Dec 2022
