Most bought funds: May 2026

Freetrade’s most-bought funds list for the past month shows how investors used a mixture of diversified long-term funds and money market products as the tax year neared its end. We have distilled this down into three key takeaways.

Just remember that this is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy any of these funds. Instead, it’s simply meant to provide insight into the most popular funds among Freetrade investors.

You can learn more about funds by reading Freetrade’s mutual funds explainer.

Top traded funds methodology: The rankings are based on the total executed value of buy orders placed by Freetrade customers from 1 April to 30 April 2026. The figures reflect buy-side activity only and do not account for sales, holding periods, or individual portfolio weightings.

Just keep swimming

The clear headline here is the sheer similarity to last month’s top funds. Nine of the ten entrants are the same, and the broad brush-strokes story is fairly clear:

Investors appear to be focused on wealth building and long-term planning. Why? Well, none of these funds exactly scream impulsive short-term play. 

Far from it in fact. LifeStrategy funds, diversified global equity funds, and even money market funds are likely used as the building blocks of portfolios, not catch-of-the-day topicality. 

The accessibility of ready-made-portfolios is a big part of this, making up a major chunk of the list. Their sustained presence at the top table demonstrates just how much Freetrade users value the simplicity of diversified one-fund solutions.

But that’s not exactly a thrilling conclusion. Luckily, there does appear to be a more interesting month-on-month narrative building in the background.

Risk on?

It might be quiet, like the persistent dripping of a leaking tap, but looking at April’s most-bought funds we can see a slight dialing up of risk. 

The number of money market funds in the top cohort has dipped to two, with abrdn Sterling Money Market Fund dropping out of the top 10.

In its place, the Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity Fund entered the top 10. 

In addition, the rise of the HSBC FTSE ALL World Index Fund and Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Fund indicates investors more readily seeking exposure to global equities, rather than income or more balanced alternatives. 

At the same time, it’s important to note that caution has not disappeared. 

Short-term money market funds from Royal London and Vanguard retained their places. 

It appears many customers are still seeking cash-like holdings or lower-volatility positions, either as tools in their portfolio or a place to keep cash productive as they wait to enter the market proper.

So the story is not one of Freetrade users suddenly going all-in on growth. It’s a bit more nuanced than that: a stable, long-term investing mindset, with some signs of baby steps towards higher-risk funds.