Square Mile’s quarterly Market Intelligence Report published today reveals a notable increase in advisers researching investment strategies with the potential of delivering capital accumulation over the second quarter of 2025. With a 42.6% share of research carried out via the Square Mile Academy of Funds, capital accumulation overtook income-related searches which accounted for 37.0%, coming in second over Q2 2025.
Notably, the report also registered an uptick in searches for funds which can offer protection from inflation in Q2. While still the least researched outcome at 5.6%, this was up from 3.8% in Q1 and was the first increase in research into such strategies which had been in steady decline for over a year. While still a nascent trend, the uncertainty over the impact of Trump’s tariffs and fears that inflation may remain higher for longer than expected seem to be reflected in a renewed focus on funds with the potential of mitigating this risk.
Square Mile’s quarterly MI Report provides a detailed account of viewing patterns among advisers using the Academy of Funds, a depository of insight and opinion on all 396 active, passive and risk targeted funds and investment trusts* rated by the company’s team of analysts. In the second quarter of 2025, the Academy received 25,175 visits creating a strong indication of fund selector sentiment towards investment outcomes, funds, fund groups and asset classes.
Drilling down to adviser research at asset class level, interest was broadly the same over the quarter, in a possible indication that advisers are keeping overall asset allocation largely unaltered. Equities remained the most viewed asset class, with a slightly reduced share of 55.7% (58.1% in Q1 2025) followed by fixed income at 21.7% (22.7% in Q1). Searches for multi-asset strategies picked up slightly by just over three percentage points to 20.9% while interest in alternatives and property as asset classes remained the lowest at 1.6% and 0.2% respectively. This pattern was repeated at IA sector level, with IA Global Equities (18.0%), IA UK All Companies (10.6%) and IA Sterling Strategic Bond (9.0%) remaining the three most popular.
There was a significant change in leadership in searches of funds with a responsible investment mandate. While the most viewed fund over the quarter was the Wellington Global Impact Bond fund accounting for 5.6%, the Liontrust Sustainable Future Managed Growth fund jumped to second from 17th place in Q1, with a 3.5% share. The Baillie Gifford Positive Change fund, meanwhile, rose to third from 15th place over the quarter at 3.4% of all views.
Research into groups that offer risk-targeted strategies also saw a shift during the second quarter. Columbia Threadneedle went straight to pole position as the most viewed fund management group offering these solutions with a 16.7% share, following the introduction of the CT Universal Multi-Asset Portfolio range to the Academy of Funds in April. Rathbones Asset Management (16.3%) came in second, while Liontrust Asset Management was positioned third (13.8%).
Among passive strategies, Aberdeen Investments saw two of their funds make the top three most viewed. Their Short Dated Global Inflation-Linked Bond Tracker and Asia Pacific ex-Japan Equity Tracker sat in first and third place respectively. However, at a group level, Vanguard, Legal & General Investment Management and BlackRock remained dominant as passive investment houses (28.2%, 20.0% and 17.1% respectively) with Aberdeen Investments following in fourth place (15.0%).
John Lester, Senior Business Development Director at Square Mile, said, “Uncertainty continues to dog markets. Trump’s tariffs, announced with great fanfare at the very beginning of the last quarter, unsettled investor sentiment and led to fears of a resurgence of inflation, a slowdown in global growth and a trade war with China. At the same time, the Russia and Ukraine conflict continues, while in the UK a shift in fiscal policy seems inevitable if the Treasury has any chance of balancing the books when meeting its new spending commitments.
In this context, it is understandable that research into both asset classes and IA sectors remained largely unaltered over the last quarter, potentially a sign that advisers are delaying any major shifts in portfolio exposures until there is greater clarity over where the winners and losers will lie. Indeed, the IA Global, IA UK All Companies and IA Sterling Strategic Bond sectors, which continue to be the three most researched, afford fund managers flexibility over where they can hunt for returns, suggesting a preference to delegate asset allocation decisions to skilled managers who are able to navigate testing markets.”
