interactive investor’s most-bought investments March 2026: how did investors position their portfolios before the end of the tax year?

• Four different money market funds featured in the top 10 list of active funds in March
• FTSE heavyweights were the most popular stocks in March, led by Legal & General
• No US tech stocks featured in the most bought stocks list in March

interactive investor (ii), the UK’s second largest platform for private investors, reveals its most-bought equities, funds, and investment trusts in March 2026.

Four different money market funds featured in in ii’s top 10 list of active funds in March – Royal London Short Term Money Market, Fidelity Cash Fund, Vanguard Short-Term Money Market Fund, and abrdn Sterling Money Market Fund. By contrast, only one money market fund featured in February – the Royal London Short Term Money Market.

When it comes to passive funds, precious metals continued to prove popular, with the iShares Physical Gold ETC and iShares Physical Silver ETC coming in at first and third place respectively.

The Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF came in second place – up from fifth in February.

Scottish Mortgage was the most-bought investment trust in March – up one spot from February. New entrants to the list for March include 3i Group, Henderson Far East Income, Supermarket Income REIT, and F&C Investment Trust.

When it comes to stocks, FTSE heavyweights were the most popular among ii customers. Legal & General came in at first place – shooting up from tenth place in February. Following this was Rolls Royce in second and Barclays in third.

No US tech stocks entered the list in March. Microsoft and Amazon, which both featured in February, dropped off.

Instead, the likes of Aviva, IAG, BP, Taylor Wimpey, and easyJet entered the list for March, after not featuring in February.

Most-bought funds and investment trusts

Commenting on the most-bought funds and investment trusts on interactive investor in March, Kyle Caldwell, Funds and Investment Education Editor at interactive investor, says: “The Middle East conflict and the impact it has had on stock markets has led to greater caution among some of our customers, reflected by the addition of three money market funds into our top 10 table for actively-managed funds: Fidelity Cash Fund, Vanguard Sterling Short-Term Money Market Fund and abrdn Sterling Money Market Fund. Half of the top 10 are in funds that aim to behave in a cash-like manner, with two share class versions of Royal London Short-Term Money Market also featuring.

“Investors often use money market funds to park cash balances for a short period while deciding where to invest, or to guard against periods of stock market volatility.

“The yield on money market funds, which reflects the income generated by its underlying investments, is typically in line with the Bank of England base rate. Following the war in the Middle East, the Bank of England is unlikely to lower interest rates in the near term. Therefore, at the moment, money market funds are offering inflation-beating income, although of course that may change in the months to come following the spike in the oil price.

“While money market funds, given their current yields, serve as useful defenders in a portfolio, having too much in cash for long periods will hamper growth.

“Going global remains the fund type of choice, with three new entrants this month: Blue Whale Growth, Artemis Global Income (its income share class) and F&C Investment Trust. Global funds, due to their flexibility, have the ability to provide greater levels of protection versus equity funds focused on a particular region or part of the market, such as smaller company shares. Global funds, both those actively-managed and those that track the global market return, are potential core holdings due to the diversification on offer.”

Most-bought stocks

Commenting on the most bought stocks on interactive investor in March, Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment says: “BP joined the list of most bought stocks on the ii platform last month, unsurprisingly given its stellar share price performance in March fuelled by a record surge for brent crude. Meanwhile the Middle East travel disruption heavily punished airline stocks since the start of the Iran war in late February prompting opportunistic investors to snap up shares in easyJet and IAG at a discount.

“Elsewhere, UK financials continue to power portfolios with Legal & General, Lloyds, NatWest, and Barclays among the most bought stocks in March on the ii platform. This is partly thanks to some attractive dividend yields on offer, particularly at L&G as investors seek the relative safety of income at a time of elevated market volatility. Defence play, Rolls Royce is an ongoing popular investment choice among ii customers too amid the global geopolitical instability.

“The mega cap tech theme appears to have fallen out of favour among ii customers. Unusually, no US tech stock made it onto the most bought stocks list in March. This is after the Nasdaq 100 suffered a near 5% slide during the month, falling into correction territory (down 10% from the recent high) as the Iran war sparked risk-off sentiment, weighing on tech stocks. Previously popular tech stocks like Microsoft and Amazon are down ~24% and ~9% since the start of the year.”

MOST BOUGHT INVESTMENTS ON INTERACTIVE INVESTOR (ii) IN MARCH 2026