Key Takeaways
- Among Morningstar-rated trusts, Polar Capital Technology was the best performing investment trust in May, while Finsbury Growth & Income was the worst.
- Almost all rated investment trusts posted positive returns in May in another strong month for global stock markets.
- The top 10 best-performing investment trusts belong to a wide spread of Morningstar equity categories, including Asia-Pacific, global emerging markets, UK small-cap, and large blend.
Another positive month for global tech stocks meant Polar Capital Technology PCT once again claimed the top spot among Morningstar-rated investment trusts. With a total return of just above 50% in 2026 so far, the Gold-rated trust is also the best-performing trust overall in 2026 too.
The trust’s top holdings include Nvidia NVDA, whose earnings beat estimates again in May, as well as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing 2330, and Broadcam AVGO.
Michael Born, fund analyst at Morningstar, says the £8 billion trust’s manager has a track record of identifying disruptive technology early. “The proximity of the team with many technology firms means it has been able to access beta-testing stages of AI tools such as natural language processing,” he adds.
Silver-rated Schroder AsiaPacific SDP, which has a market capitalization of £1.1 billion, was in second place in May amid another strong month for investment trusts in the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan equity category.
The top 10 investment trusts in May are drawn from a wide range of Morningstar equity categories, including emerging markets, technology, Asia-Pacific, Europe ex-UK, US large-cap blend, and global large-cap growth.
Nick Train Trust Among Worst-Performing Trusts Again
Finsbury Growth & Income FGT was the worst-performing among Morningstar-rated trusts in May with a fall of 2%. This also makes the Bronze-rated trust the worst-performer among Morningstar-covered trusts in the year to date.
The trust’s manager, Nick Train, survived a vote in January this year with 98% of investors supporting a “continuation vote”, despite five calendar years of failing to beat the benchmark.
Current top holdings are Unilever ULVR, London Stock Exchange Group LSEG, and Experian EXPN, which together make up more than 30% of the trust’s portfolio. Shares in consumer goods giant Unilever are down 13.57% in the year to date, LSEG group shares are up 3.57%, and Experian is down nearly 22% as fret about the impact of AI disruption on the consumer credit ratings business.
“Looking ahead, the strategy’s success remains closely tied to the fortunes of Nick Train’s highest-conviction holdings, which continue to drive the portfolio’s outcomes. For investors who remain committed to the manager’s long-term philosophy, this may prove to be an attractive entry point. However, momentum could continue to work against this approach in the near term,” says Morningstar fund analyst Henry Ince in a recent note.
Another Nick Train-managed investment trust, Lindsell Train LTI, lost 1.70% in May and more than 16% in the year to date, which puts it within the bottom three of all trusts. This trust sits within the GBP flexible allocation category. With a market capitalization of £110 million, Lindsell Train investment trust is much smaller than Finsbury Growth & Income, which has a market cap of nearly £800 million.
Among all trusts, Africa Opportunity AOF was the worst performer, losing 9%, but this is in context of a 43.99% gain for the year to date. The £7 million trust, which focuses on value and special situations stocks in Western and Southern Africa, was the best performer in the first quarter, but reversed course in April, when it was the worst performer among 325 trusts.
How We Calculate UK Investment Trust Returns
All performance figures shown in the table are on a total return basis, including income and assuming all dividends are reinvested. Some 25 investment trusts out of 325 have a Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze, Silver, or Gold.
Investment trust share prices trade at a discount or premium to their net asset value or NAV, a measure of whether trusts are in or out of favor with investors. Many UK-listed investment trusts trade at a discount to NAV. Figures quoted for trust size are based on market capitalization and reflect current share prices as of June 1, 2026.
Venture capital trusts or VCTs have been removed from the wider dataset of 325 investment trusts, as well as trusts for which no performance data is available.
All figures shown in the table are total return, including income and assuming all dividends are reinvested.
