Tesla Inc, Lloyds Banking Group PLC and Scottish Mortgage Investment
Investors were looking in the bargain bin for a lot of their share and fund purchases in December and for most of last year
Small cap stocks, downtrodden blue chips and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) were among the most fancied shares for UK retail investors last year, according to data from major investment platforms.
A mix of exciting tech and local value were among the dominant themes for those who look to investment trusts for their gains.
December’s most popular shares were led by fashion retailer Boohoo Group PLC (AIM:BOO), with investors looking for a bargain after a profit warning sent the share price to a five-year low.
Fellow AIM constituent genedrive PLC (AIM:GDR) was second on the list, which is based on purchases on the Interactive Investor (ii) platform, as it received approval for its point-of-care Covid diagnostic test kit.
Third, fourth, sixth and seventh were Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY), International Consolidated Airlines Group (LSE:IAG) and Cineworld Group PLC (LSE:CINE), FTSE 350 names that have remained extremely popular with bargain-hunting investors expecting the market to turn in their favour, be that by an upturn for the travel sector, in Bank of England interest rates, or bums on cinema seats.
New technology, in short, drove continued interest for electric car leader Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain PLC (LSE:ARB, OTCQX:ARBKF, NASDAQ:ARBK) and hydrogen trailblazer ITM Power PLC (AIM:ITM).
For the fourth quarter as a whole, oil was a big theme, with BP PLC (LSE:BP.) proving the top purchase and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LSE:RDSB) further down the list of purchases, via data from AJ Bell.
Most popular shares in December
- Boohoo Group
- Genedrive Plc
- Rolls Royce Holdings PLC
- Lloyds
- Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)
- IAG
- Argo
- Cineworld Group
- ITM Power
- Omega Diagnostics
Data from ii
Top international stocks for UK investors (for Saxo clients)
- Tesla
- Apple
- GameStop
- Alibaba
- Nio
Data from Saxo Markets
Most popular shares in Q4
- BP
- Tesla
- Glaxosmithkline
- Rolls Royce
- Boohoo
- International Consolidated Airlines
- Aviva
- Royal Dutch Shell
- Lloyds
- Unilever
Data from AJ Bell
Across the whole of 2021, Argo Blockchain was the most popular share on the AJ Bell platform, also first on Fidelity’s and second on ii’s.
The cryptocurrency player proved more popular with private ISA and SIPP investors than the host of blue chips which filled places from second to seventh, GlaxoSmithKline PLC (LSE:GSK), BP PLC (LSE:BP.), Lloyds, Rolls, IAG and Unilever, plus Aviva PLC (LSE:AV.) in ninth.
Tesla proved a top pick across the whole year for small investors, and delivered very strong gains to early November before giving back some as CEO Elon Musk sold stock, which many investors seemed to see as a potential discounted buying opportunity. Up around 50% over the year, most investors will be very pleased.
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