The 50 investment trusts that would have made you a millionaire

Among the 50 “ISA millionaire” investment trusts (see table below), 14 focus on smaller companies. Three of these investment trusts are from the Asia Pacific Smaller Companies sector, including the sixth best performing “ISA millionaire” trust abrdn Asia Focus which returned £1,792,184. A further three are from the European Smaller Companies sector, of which Montanaro European Smaller Companies is the best performing, returning £1,302,101. Five of these trusts are from the UK Smaller Companies sector with JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income performing best of these, returning £1,278,186.

 

The 50 “ISA millionaire” investment trusts

 

Rank	Investment trust	AIC sector	% share price total return, 06/04/1999 to 31/01/2025	Total ISA investment value at 31/01/2025
1	Allianz Technology Trust	Technology & Technology Innovation	2,669	£2,936,182
2	HgCapital Trust	Private Equity	4,565	£2,789,473
3	Polar Capital Technology	Technology & Technology Innovation	2,236	£2,696,343
4	Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust	Global	1,967	£2,335,775
5	JPMorgan American	North America	1,214	£1,902,265
6	abrdn Asia Focus	Asia Pacific Smaller Companies	4,459	£1,792,184
7	Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies	Asia Pacific Smaller Companies	4,535	£1,752,157
8	JPMorgan Global Growth & Income	Global Equity Income	1,153	£1,576,124
9	Pacific Horizon Investment Trust	Asia Pacific	2,564	£1,446,060
10	JPMorgan US Smaller Companies	North American Smaller Companies	1,608	£1,413,195
11	International Biotechnology	Biotechnology & Healthcare	2,139	£1,398,167
12	Worldwide Healthcare Trust	Biotechnology & Healthcare	2,201	£1,333,068
13	Fidelity European Trust	Europe	1,900	£1,322,452
14	Herald Investment Trust	Global Smaller Companies	1,035	£1,302,252
15	Montanaro European Smaller Companies	European Smaller Companies	1,121	£1,302,101
16	Mid Wynd International	Global	1,336	£1,301,629
17	The European Smaller Companies Trust	European Smaller Companies	1,051	£1,295,133
18	JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income	UK Smaller Companies	1,430	£1,278,186
19	JPMorgan European Discovery	European Smaller Companies	1,929	£1,272,189
20	F&C Investment Trust	Global	867	£1,271,372
21	Canadian General Investments	North America	1,559	£1,270,532
22	BlackRock Throgmorton Trust	UK Smaller Companies	1,261	£1,243,218
23	BlackRock Smaller Companies	UK Smaller Companies	1,201	£1,237,287
24	JPMorgan Indian	India/Indian Subcontinent	1,990	£1,220,562
25	ICG Enterprise Trust	Private Equity	665	£1,220,536
26	Alliance Witan	Global	697	£1,208,458
27	Law Debenture Corporation	UK Equity Income	881	£1,207,077
28	Rights & Issues Investment Trust	UK Smaller Companies	1,655	£1,200,227
29	Fidelity Special Values	UK All Companies	1,919	£1,198,034
30	Invesco Asia Dragon*	Asia Pacific Equity Income	1,133	£1,196,213
31	Brunner Investment Trust	Global	665	£1,195,367
32	AVI Global Trust	Global	1,639	£1,183,941
33	Monks Investment Trust	Global	907	£1,165,093
34	Biotech Growth Trust	Biotechnology & Healthcare	1,281	£1,158,772
35	Schroder Asian Total Return	Asia Pacific	1,231	£1,147,541
36	Henderson European Trust	Europe	846	£1,146,372
37	The Global Smaller Companies Trust	Global Smaller Companies	1,197	£1,139,490
38	Schroder AsiaPacific Fund	Asia Pacific	1,441	£1,136,585
39	abrdn UK Smaller Companies Growth	UK Smaller Companies	651	£1,129,455
40	Fidelity Asian Values	Asia Pacific Smaller Companies	851	£1,128,271
41	Finsbury Growth & Income Trust	UK Equity Income	857	£1,120,297
42	Bankers Investment Trust	Global	855	£1,103,182
43	Pantheon International	Private Equity	1,049	£1,076,230
44	Mercantile Investment Trust	UK All Companies	1,404	£1,076,067
45	JPMorgan Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	1,414	£1,060,871
46	BlackRock World Mining Trust	Commodities & Natural Resources	1,805	£1,030,713
47	Martin Currie Global Portfolio	Global	726	£1,023,417
48	JPMorgan European Growth & Income	Europe	687	£1,016,396
49	Caledonia Investments	Flexible Investment	1,023	£1,010,065
50	Pacific Assets Trust	Asia Pacific	884	£1,005,609

 

Source: theaic.co.uk / Morningstar. AIC members only, excluding VCTs and companies that are winding up. The column headed “% share price total return” shows the share price total return over the period based on a single lump sum investment on 06/04/1999. The column headed “total ISA investment value” is the total value of an investment on 31/01/2025 if the maximum ISA limit for each year had been invested annually from 1999 to 2024, with the investment being made on 6 April each year. *Performance record is for Invesco Asia, which merged with Asia Dragon on 13/02/2025.

 

Annabel Brodie-Smith, Communications Director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “Investment trusts’ long-term approach has delivered strong performance for investors over time. With their permanent capital structure, investment trusts can take a long-term view and are never forced sellers. This makes them particularly suitable for hard-to-sell assets like smaller companies and unquoted companies.

“History demonstrates the resilience of investment trusts, which have navigated numerous crises including two world wars, the financial crisis, the dotcom boom and bust and the pandemic over more than 155 years. While past performance is no guarantee of future returns, the structure of investment trusts offers a compelling approach for investors seeking to build long-term wealth amidst economic uncertainty.

“Our research shows that 50 investment trusts would have returned more than £1 million for ISA savers who invested their entire allowance each year since 1999 – with four returning more than £2 million. I’d emphasise that it’s vital to spread your risk when investing. A diversified portfolio of investment trusts and other assets which meet your needs is the best way to succeed over the long term. If investors are in doubt about which trust is right for them, it’s important to speak to a financial adviser.”

 

Comments from some of the top performers

 

Mike Seidenberg, Portfolio Manager of Allianz Technology Trust, said: “First, the team is flattered, and we take investing very seriously for our shareholders who are our customers. Second, the trust is run in a very collaborative manner and the kudos goes to the team not just me and without the daily interaction and collaboration, I don’t think we would have garnered the results over time. Our success is driven by a real passion for technology and understanding its importance in the world we live in which has been increasing since inception. Technology creates competitive differentiation in almost every industry today and this should continue going forward. Intellectual curiosity is another pillar of our success and the desire to understand the products is a key ingredient to investing in a company.

“Our relationships with management are another key differentiation point and our location in the San Francisco Bay Area facilitates this given the proximity of many technology companies.  Identifying products solving difficult problems is something we pride ourselves on and helps to identify themes in the portfolio. Going forward, I am cautiously optimistic near term on technology and positive long term on this sector given its history of impactful sustainable innovation. I feel very fortunate investing in the technology sector.”

 

Jim Strang, Chairman of HgCapital Trust, said: “The board of HgCapital Trust (HgT) are very pleased to hear that investors allocating their full ISA allowance and investing in the shares of the company every year since 1999 would have amassed assets of nearly £2.8m today. The whole premise of the HgT investment model is that it is repeatable and scales. This result, achieved over more than 25 years, is testament to how well that model has been implemented by Hg, the manager of HgT. Continuing to deliver returns going forward will require focus, discipline, and continual improvement, all of which are deeply ingrained in the culture of HgT and the manager, Hg. We hope to do better next year.”

 

Tom Slater, Manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, said: “The current pace and scale of global change are unparalleled. Companies that harness change – be it technological, scientific, societal, or commercial – can achieve remarkable growth. Our returns come from our ability to imagine the future potential of a select few companies and endure the inevitable ups and downs along their growth journey. Considering how businesses like SpaceX, Aurora, Joby Aviation and Tempus AI might transform the world in the next decade or two is a really exciting prospect.”

 

 

1. Includes AIC member investment companies except for VCTs and companies that are winding up.
2. The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) represents a broad range of investment trusts and VCTs, collectively known as investment companies. The AIC’s vision is for closed-ended investment companies to be understood and considered by every investor. The AIC has 308 members and the industry has total assets of approximately £274 billion.
3. For more information about the AIC and investment trusts, visit the AIC’s website.
4. Disclaimer: The information contained in this press release does not constitute investment advice or personal recommendation and it is not an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity. You should seek independent financial and, if appropriate, legal advice as to the suitability of any investment decision. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investment company shares, and the income from them, can fall as well as rise. You may not get back the full amount invested and, in some cases, nothing at all.