Most popular ISA investments among AJ Bell DIY investor customers in January

DIY investors were in risk-on mode during January 2025 judging by the most popular ISA investment choices on the AJ Bell platform.

Exposure to global markets and the tech sector topped the list of places investors deployed money, suggesting they started the new year hoping for broad-based gains on equity markets or a third year in a row for tech sector strength.

Investors use ISAs for lots of different reasons, some saving for a specific goal and others simply squirreling money away for another day. The one thing that unites all these different people is the ability to protect your capital gains and dividends from the taxman.

Source: AJ Bell. Based on net flows.

The top five most popular funds were all passive vehicles – index funds or ETFs tracking an index – which reinforces the view that more people are turning their back on active managers. It’s very hard for a fund manager to outperform the market year in, year out, and investors are increasingly opting for the lower-cost passive route which simply moves in line with a specific market or index.

Certain investors are still happy to lean on an expert in the hope of added gains. Investment trusts remain popular with DIY investors and this type of investment is universally an actively managed one.
JPMorgan Global Growth & Income has been a firm favourite among AJ Bell customers for some time and it is once again at the top of the most popular investment trusts list. Providing exposure to growing companies and with decent income offers the best of both worlds to investors.

Over five years, JPMorgan Global Growth & Income has returned 113% versus 110% from the US index. No other global equity income investment trust has kept pace with the S&P 500 over those five years, let alone come anywhere close. It’s no wonder that investors remain big fans of JPMorgan Global Growth & Income.

Nvidia was the most popular share among AJ Bell DIY investor customers in January, based on net flows of money on the platform. Having delivered stellar gains in 2023 and 2024 amid excitement around AI, investors buying shares in 2025 are taking the view there is still a significant opportunity for Nvidia to grow its earnings at a high rate.

The second most popular share was National Grid, which is the polar opposite to Nvidia – stodgy and boring with no exciting narrative. Instead, it’s all about scooping up regular dividends.

Electricity transmission may lack the sparkle of Nvidia’s stellar AI opportunity, yet to some people the idea of sitting back and collecting a steady stream of income from dividends is much more satisfying. National Grid offers a 4.7% dividend which puts it on the cusp of the top quartile yields for FTSE 100 stocks.