Top of the stocks: Most bought and sold shares in December

 
Source: Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Bestinvest and interactive investor
 
There was more of a US flavor to the most-bought list in December with MicroStrategy topping the list for the second month on the trot across all four platforms, closely followed by Tesla and NVIDIA (NVDA).

As Bitcoin surpassed the $100,000 milestone for the first time, MicroStrategy (MTSR) continued to curry favour with UK investors as a proxy play on the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The 400%-plus share price increase over the last year fired the company into the Nasdaq 100 in December but definitely not one for the faint-hearted.

Tesla (TSLA) may have been the poor relation of the Magnificent Seven for much of 2024 but roared back to a record high with a 60%-plus rise in the last two months of the year. An undoubted beneficiary of the so-called Trump Bump, Elon Musk’s influence on the new administration could help to clear regulatory hurdles for the launch of Tesla’s Robotaxi service in 2025.

More bearish investors will point to the company’s recent drop in annual sales for the first time in a decade but cheaper models in the development pipeline may help to stave off competition from low-cost Chinese alternatives (as well as likely tariffs under Trump 2.0).

October’s new kid on the block Palantir (PLTR) cemented its place on the most-bought list, with investors seemingly undeterred by its eye-watering valuation on the back of its share price hitting a record high in December. Investors have enjoyed a quadrupling of their money over the last year but all eyes are on whether Palantir’s AI platform can maintain its market share amid tough competition from Microsoft and Alphabet.

Rigetti Computing (RGTI) also burst onto the scene in December, with the quantum computing specialist delivering a stellar one-year share price rise of more than 1,500%. While NVIDIA still reigns supreme in the AI chip market, quantum computing could certainly shake things up. Alphabet’s Willow chip reportedly accomplished a task in under five minutes that would take the world’s fastest supercomputer over 1 septillion years (yes, that’s 27 zeros).

With a couple of exceptions, the most-sold list was a mirror image of the most-bought with investors profit-taking on some of the big risers of 2024. December marked a penta-trick on the most-sold list for NVIDIA and Tesla on the US side and Lloyds (LLOY) and Rolls Royce (RR) in the UK. Lloyds jumped on the news that Close Brothers had been granted permission to appeal against the ruling on motor finance while Rolls Royce finished the year with a record high.
 

Top 5 most bought investment trusts in December

 
Turning to the world of investment trusts, these were the most bought trusts in December:

 
Source: Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Bestinvest and interactive investor
 
Once again, Scottish Mortgage (SMT) took top honours as its growth-focused portfolio recovered from a rocky few years to deliver a 25% NAV total return in 2024. While it remains on a 12% discount, this is significantly narrower than its 20%-plus discount over much of 2023. The trust also provides exposure to unquoted companies which account for just under a quarter of its portfolio.

Hot on its heels was JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (JGGI), which has also been in our top five for the last five months. It’s a consistent outperformer in the Global Equity Income sector, achieving 100%-plus share price and NAV returns over the last five years. The trust structure allows the managers to use distributable reserves to smooth dividend payments while providing exposure to high-growth technology stocks.
 
Investors also added ‘core’ global trusts F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) and Alliance Witan (ALW) to the pot. Both trusts invest in a diversified portfolio of international equities but outsource the stock picking to specialist fund managers, which has delivered solid returns over the last five years.
 
The final contender provides exposure to renewable energy assets, which are forecast to scale up as the UK decarbonises in the move to net zero. Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) is currently trading on a dividend yield of c. 8% from its portfolio of windfarms and, due to its commitment to RPI-linked dividend growth, could be a good hedge if inflation rises.
 
Looking forward, there’s plenty of news for investors to digest, not least with the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump. Beyond that, macroeconomic factors remain firmly centre stage, with the US juggling moderating inflation with a volatile jobs market while the UK is still grappling with the after-effects of the Budget. Roll on January….
 

All data as at 07/01/2025 unless stated otherwise.
 

 

_Disclaimer

_{This is not substantive investment research or a research recommendation, as it does not constitute substantive research or analysis. This material should be considered as general market commentary.}
 

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