Despite geopolitical turbulence, an energy shock and ongoing inflation concerns, global equity markets continued to swell, while investors kept seeking out diversified exposure.
As part of an ongoing series, below, Trustnet examined which global funds attracted more than £200m in net new money and which saw more than £200m in withdrawals over the six-month period.
Starting with the IA Global sector, 14 funds recorded inflows above the £200m threshold.
Source: FE Analytics
Vanguard dominated the top of the inflows table, with two of its global index funds attracting more than £10bn between January to June 2026.
Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity also attracted £549m in net new money, while performance added £1.4bn.
As part of the popular LifeStrategy suite, the fund offers a 100% equity allocation through underlying trackers – making it the most aggressive option in the suite for investors with the highest risk appetite.
Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity has delivered one of the highest average decile scores in the IA Global sector over the three years to the end of 2025 and last year it attracted £839m in net new money – making it one of the most bought global equity funds in 2025.
The final Vanguard strategy in the table is Vanguard LifeStrategy Global 100% Equity, launched at the beginning of 2026. The new LifeStrategy Global range was introduced to offer investors a portfolio more closely aligned with global market averages, in contrast to the existing LifeStrategy suite, which carries a structural UK bias.
Looking at the strictly more actively managed strategies that attracted significant inflows, WS Blue Whale Growth pulled in £338m and added £836m through performance, bringing assets to £2.9bn by the end of June.
Managed by FE fundinfo Alpha Manager Stephen Yiu since 2017, the fund aims to achieve capital growth over any five-year period through a bottom-up stock picking approach.
The management team focuses on companies capable of compounding earnings over time, resilient across economic cycles and protected by durable competitive advantages. As such, the investable universe is narrowed from around 1,600 stocks to roughly 100, with around 30 held in the portfolio.
RSMR analysts said: “The fund is more diversified than it has been previously, and this is due to the underlying investment regime at play – the team have adapted to the opportunity set and this will assist the fund going forward.”
Another fund attracting more than £200m in inflows over the first half of the year was Artemis SmartGARP Global Equity, which increased its assets from £780m to £1.3bn over the six-month period, with £325m in inflows and £182m from performance.
Managed by Alpha Manager Raheel Altaf and carrying an FE fundinfo five-Crown Rating, the fund uses Artemis’ proprietary SmartGARP quantitative tool to identify attractively valued companies with strong growth potential.
Top holdings currently include Samsung Electronics (4.9%), Dell Technologies (4.3%) and Alphabet (3.9%).
The strategy has delivered first-quartile returns over one, three, five and 10 years to the end of June 2026, gaining 272.7% over the decade.
Performance of the fund vs sector and benchmark over 5yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Turning to outflows, 13 IA Global funds recorded withdrawals above £200m.
Source: FE Analytics
The most significant fund flows came from Fundsmith Equity, which logged 3.3bn in withdrawals and lost a further £523m through performance, reducing assets from £16bn to £12bn. The outflows continue a trend from 2025, when £6.5bn was withdrawn.
Managed by Alpha Manager Terry Smith since 2010, the fund invests in high-quality companies such as Marriott, Visa and Microsoft, avoiding short-term trading strategies.
Titan Square Mile analysts said they have “a high regard for Smith, who has built a strong long-term track record”.
They added: “The types of companies held are those that many investors can relate to, with most comprising household brands providing everyday goods and services. We believe the types of businesses held are capable of delivering attractive long-term returns, although periods of underperformance can occur, particularly when more cyclical areas of the market are in favour.”
However, the fund has struggled, posting fourth-quartile returns over one, three, and five years, gaining 11.5% over the latter period.
Earlier this month, Smith signalled that the longstanding strategy will be seeing some changes, with the fund opening 12 new positions in the first half of this year.
Performance of the fund vs sector over 5yrs
Source: FE Analytics
JPM Global Focus logged outflows of almost £900bn over six months.
Co-managed by Helge Skibeli, James Cook and Sam Witherow, the fund invests at least 80% of assets in attractively valued global equities with strong profit growth or earnings recovery potential.
With 67.7% of assets in the US, its top holdings include Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft.
Other actively managed funds of note that have logged over £200m in outflows include Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund, Baillie Gifford Global Alpha Growth and Schroder Global Equity.
IA Global Equity Income
Flows in the IA Global Equity Income sector were more muted, with one fund attracting more than £200m in inflows and two recording withdrawals above that threshold.
Source: FE Analytics
Artemis Global Income, which is co-managed by Alpha Manager James Davidson and Jacob de Tusch-Lec, attracted £1.3bn in inflows and added a further £932m through performance, lifting assets from £4.2bn to £6.4bn.
The strategy targets a 5% dividend growth per annum while also outperforming the MSCI AC World index on a total return basis.
Titan Square Mile analysts said the all-cap fund “differentiates itself versus many peers by steering away from the more traditional income stalwarts”.
They noted it is unlikely to hold significant UK exposure, as it is often paired with the group’s UK equity income strategy.
Artemis Global Income has delivered a top-quartile 161.1% return over five years and was the most-researched fund among Trustnet users in the first half of 2026.
Performance of the fund vs sector and benchmark over 5yrs
Source: FE Analytics
On the outflows side, IFSL Evenlode Global Income – which invests in high-quality, growing and dividend-paying companies – logged £410m in withdrawals and lost £128m through performance.
The fund has more of a defensive profile than the broader global equity market – as such, Titan Square Mile analysts said IFSL Evenlode Global Income is likely to offer a level of downside protection in falling markets but lags when markets are led by lower quality and more cyclically sensitive companies.
Meanwhile, Baillie Gifford Responsible Global Equity Income logged £221m in outflows while gaining back £36m through performance.
The strategy, which is managed by James Dow and Ross Mathison, typically holds between 50 and 80 stocks, and while it promotes environmental and social characteristics, it does not explicitly target positive environmental and social outcomes.