Investors seem to have had good instincts when they bought IA UK All Companies or IA UK Equity Income funds last year, with five out of the seven most bought strategies in the sectors outperforming their average peer in the first half of 2026.
In this series, Trustnet is looking at the first-half performance of the funds that received the most new money from investors in 2025, to find out if they have been right in their choices so far.
Below, we focus on the UK equity sectors. Just seven funds from the IA UK All Companies and IA UK Equity Income sectors were previously highlighted by Trustnet for their 2025 inflows.
Source: FE Analytics
Topping the list is Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index with a 10.2% return after an ongoing charge of 0.14%.
Run passively, it outperformed a good number of higher-charging active names in the list. Returns were mostly driven by its heavy exposure to highly profitable UK banks, as well as a market that is increasingly prioritising immediate cash flow and dividend yields over speculative future growth.
At the opposite side of the table, TM Redwheel UK Equity Income sat at the bottom of the equity income names with a 5.3% return since January – more than 1 percentage point below the average peer, which made 6.1%.
The potential for short-term underperformance has been flagged by RSMR analysts.
“While it may not always top performance tables in the short term, the fund has a proven track record of delivering impressive long-term returns,” they said.
“For investors seeking a robust, income-generating strategy with a strong foundation in disciplined stock selection and risk-aware portfolio management, the Redwheel UK Equity Income fund is a compelling choice”.
They also praised the “experienced and well-resourced team of investment managers and analysts”, whose interests are “firmly aligned with those of their clients”.
The managers apply a “rigorous framework that enforces discipline: trimming outperformers to lock in gains, while resisting the temptation to chase underperformers”, ensuing the fund remains focused on quality and valuation, with a strong emphasis on a margin of safety.
At 0.77%, TM Redwheel UK Equity Income is the second most expensive fund on the list.
In the IA UK All Companies sector, Royal London UK Core Equity Tilt is the largest fund in the entire top 10 at £7.4bn, roughly three times the size of the next biggest, and returned 8.7%.
Its sister strategy, Royal London UK Broad Equity Tilt, returned 8.3% and carries a Titan Square Mile ‘recommended’ rating. Both charge 0.08% and are run by Michael Sprot and FE fundinfo Alpha Manager Nils Jungbacke.
Titan Square Mile analysts noted the fund has at least 10% lower carbon intensity than the index it tracks. They said this is positive, but pointed out that other ESG passive funds are available to retail investors. Some of these have higher tracking errors but stronger ESG credentials, for example through more exclusions, while others positively tilt towards stocks with strong ESG credentials.
The abrdn UK All-Share tracker matched the Broad Equity Tilt fund's 8.3% return. It is the second cheapest fund on the entire list at 0.06%.
Both Artemis UK Select returned 6% and iShares UK Equity ESG Screened and Optimised Index (UK) made 5.8%, the lowest of the five IA UK All Companies names but still above the sector average of 5.2%.
The Artemis strategy is co-led by Amrose Faulks and Alpha Manager Ed Legget. FundCalibre said Artemis UK Select “stands out as one of the premier UK equity funds due to the impressive track record of its managers”.
They added: “The fund’s high-conviction approach and flexibility in stock selection make it an attractive choice for investors who are comfortable with higher levels of risk in pursuit of substantial long-term gains. However, investors should be prepared for potential drawdowns during periods of market stress.”
Its 0.80% OCF means it is the most expensive fund of the seven.
The iShares ETF charges 0.05%, the cheapest fund in the group. However, its ESG screening did not produce any performance advantage over the unscreened Vanguard and abrdn trackers, which both finished ahead of it.