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

The random walk theory posits that stock prices are essentially random and unpredictable, suggesting that it’s nigh-on impossible to beat the market over any period of time through skill alone…by David Brenchley

It felt like the stock market in March behaved more akin to a drunken person catching the last train home after a week-long binge and then having to stumble home after having fallen asleep and ended up at the end of the line in the middle of nowhere.

What seems clear, looking at the one- and five-year charts, is that US markets look to be gradually rolling over, news overnight (as I was writing this article) that Iran had tentatively agreed to a ceasefire notwithstanding, as artificial intelligence (AI) excitement gets replaced with fears over software-as-a-service firms being disrupted by AI and the uncertainty of geopolitical ructions and the future of spheres of influence.

Indeed, the NASDAQ Composite briefly slipped into correction territory towards the end of March, though the S&P 500 has, thus far, somehow escaped the same fate. Other regions had had it worse. Japan’s Nikkei 225, the UK’s FTSE 350, Europe’s STOXX 50 and India’s Sensex all well and truly corrected, before bouncing. Still, it could probably have been worse; markets have remained surprisingly resilient.

UK investors pulled a net £1.4bn from equity-focused funds in March, according to the funds network Calastone. This was the seventh-worst month on record and the biggest net outflows since November 2025. Nowhere was safe, with Europe, Asia Pacific, emerging markets and Japan seeing the biggest outflows. Interestingly, North America was the only equity sector with net inflows.

Amid all this, we still need to find places to invest, not an easy prospect when the world looks uncertain and market movements are taking their cues from President Trump’s Truth Social postings, profanities and threats to wipe out entire civilisations included.

Top 10 most bought and sold shares in March

These were the most (and least) popular shares with UK retail investors on three of the largest investment platforms last month:

Source: AJ Bell, Bestinvest and interactive investor

Safety first

The first observation I’ll make is that investors seemed to go back to what they know: income-generating, large-cap UK stocks dominated the list. There were only 11 different companies on the top 10 most-bought lists of the three main platforms we check. The only firm that did not make the list above was NatWest (NWG).

Further, there were no US stocks on the most-bought list, and only NVIDIA (NVDA) made the most-sold list, perhaps suggesting investors are not quite sure how things will play out in the short term: we could see a sharp rally in US bourses if the conflict in Iran de-escalates; or an even bigger drop if the oil price continues to rise and threaten a global recession.

Big yields remain attractive to most: Legal & General’s (LGEN) dividend yield is c. 8.6%, Taylor Wimpey’s (TW) is c. 9% and the likes of BP (BP) and Lloyds (LLOY) are around the 4% mark. Seemingly, adding exposure here seems to be the order of the month.

Barbelling that, the defense and aerospace names Rolls-Royce (RR) and BAE Systems (BA) were being topped up after falling c. 20% despite the powerful tailwind of soaring military spending from NATO countries not having dimmed.

Fasten your seatbelts

One interesting thing we did see was the return of airlines. This was the first time the budget carrier easyJet (EZJ) and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) have appeared in our list since January 2025 and December 2024 respectively.

The Iran conflict has caused havoc on airline share prices. First, the Middle East, Dubai in particular, has become a popular destination for holidaymakers (and people who don’t particularly like paying tax), so the temporary cancellation of flights hasn’t been ideal.

More importantly, fuel is a key component of their airlines’ business models because they need to fuel every plane they fly. Hence, higher gas prices mean it’s more expensive to fly, which crimps their (already razor-thin) profit margins.

Hence, EZJ and IAG saw around a quarter of their value wiped off from the start of the war to the worst of it (before bouncing harder than most others stocks in the wake of positive news).

This seemingly lured bargain-hunting investors into buying the dip. That said, it is an interesting contrast to hedge funds, which have been ramping up their short bets against airlines including EZJ, which as we wrote last weekend was the 13th most-shorted UK stock, and its peer Wizz Air (WIZZ), which was and still is the most shorted stock.

Oil slicks

The seeming corollary of beaten-up airline stocks being bought was that now-soaring oil companies are being sold, as investors take some profits after the oil price spike.

Shares in the oil majors BP and Shell (SHEL) rose c. 40% and c. 30% respectively through the first quarter of 2026 and were up as much as c. 80% and c. 60% respectively since their Liberation Day lows 12 months ago. It seems prudent, then, that many took the opportunity to trim some cash off the top.

Top 10 most bought investment trusts in March

Moving onto investment trusts, and the top of the list remained broadly unchanged, but we did see some new entries further down the list:

Source: AJ Bell, Bestinvest and interactive investor

Income seeking

Again, very little changed here, as investors were cautious when considering making big changes. It’s likely that the likes of Scottish Mortgage (SMT), City of London (CTY), Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) and Temple Bar (TMPL) are now monthly investments for many.

The latter three of these also play into the income theme we see here: UKW now yields c. 10%, with CTY and TMPL a lower yet still attractive 3.8%.

Another new addition to our list is Henderson Far East Income (HFEL), which looks to generate a high and growing dividend by investing in companies listed in the Asia Pacific region, as well as benefitting from the growth potential of the region.

Capital growth had seemingly been hard to come by, with the share price halving between 2017 and 2025, but the renaissance in emerging markets has proven a boon for the trust, which is up c. 35% since Liberation Day and yields c. 9.5%.

Bricks and mortar

In stock world, we saw the return of housebuilder Taylor Wimpey and in investment trust world, Primary Health Properties (PHP), a real estate investment trust that owns and operates primary healthcare facilities across the UK and Ireland, crept into our list.

Another trust with a chunky yield, this time sitting at 7.5%, PHP’s portfolio comprises things like GP medical centres, diagnostic centres and private hospitals. Around three-quarters of its revenues come from GPs or government bodies, followed by private operators and pharmacies.

It recently merged with Assura to create a £6bn portfolio of healthcare properties. Assura owns properties such as children’s hospices and ambulance hubs.

Recent results showed that rent reviews had contributed to top-line growth, while it had pushed ahead with cost savings following its purchase of Assura.

Outlook

It seems sensible that investors have been taking a beat, pausing for thought and many other cliches while the conflict in the Middle East rumbles on.

I wrote this article on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, in between which came news that Iran would consider ending the fighting, just 90 minutes before US President Donald Trump’s deadline for agreeing a deal ended.

Markets took this as absolute good news, with oil plunging by almost 15% overnight and share prices jumping. Yet, questions do remain. Iran said it would agree to a ceasefire, but set out a 10-point plan of its own through its state broadcaster.

This plan includes a cessation of hostilities in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen; compensation paid to Iran; the lifting of sanctions placed on Iran; and the release of Iranian funds and frozen assets held by the US – all or some of which seem unlikely.

Still, we’ll wallow in some good news for the time being and see you in 30 days time.