ISA deadline looms: experts reveal the investment trusts they favour

Oliver Haill

Published: 16:40 11 Mar 2026

With less than a month left before the deadline for savers to use their Individual Savings Account (ISA) allowance on 5 April, financial analysts and commentators have been recommending a focus on long-term strategies to cope with the sort of geopolitical tensions and volatile markets seen recently. 

ISAs are tax-free wrappers that allow savers to invest in shares tax-free. The annual allowance stands at £20,000.

The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has polled a number of financial experts to find out which investment trusts they recommend for cautious, moderate and adventurous investors.

Investment trusts are London-listed, closed-ended funds. As a closed-ended fund, this means there is a fixed number of shares that investors can buy and sell on the stock market, while the fund manager invests the money in a portfolio of assets.

Trusts can pay resilient and rising dividends, as they can hold back some income in good years and use those reserves to maintain or increase payouts when markets are weaker.

“Trusts can also work well for high growth areas like emerging markets as their fund managers are able to take a long-term view of their portfolio,” says AIC director Annabel Brodie-Smith.

“Despite the war in Iran and worrying headlines about financial markets, most investors have seen these situations before. It’s vital to keep investing as usual and remain calm and patient. Panic selling is never wise – you will not find experienced fund managers radically changing their plans or rushing into short-term decisions because of a conflict with a very uncertain duration and outcome. They know that they need to steer a steady ship and that means sticking to their long-term strategies.”

Trusts for cautious investors

Three wealth preservation investment trusts were tipped by Kyle Caldwell, funds and investment education editor at Interactive Investor, who says this trio has “consistently delivered in terms of protecting capital during periods of stock market weakness”.

They are Capital Gearing Trust PLC (LSE:CGT), Personal Assets Trust (LSE:PNL) and Ruffer Investment Company Ltd (LSE:RICA).

“Each has a low weighting to shares and plenty of defensive armoury, such as low-risk, inflation-linked bonds. Each offers a steady, defensive option for investors seeking long-term real returns with controlled risk.

“As ever investors need to do their homework and look under the bonnet to see how the defensive exposure differs – particularly the equity holdings, where the three trusts have less in common,” Caldwell says.

Jason Hollands, managing director of Bestinvest, also highlighted Personal Assets Trust.

“For investors unsettled by geopolitical events and the debate around a potential AI bubble, Personal Assets Trust, managed by Sebastian Lyon and Charlotte Yonge of Troy Asset Management, stands out as a defensive option,” he says, highlighting its long-standing emphasis on delivering dependable returns but with a strong focus on capital preservation.

“The managers take a multi-asset approach, blending blue-chip global equities with short-dated bonds, index-linked gilts and Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) and gold. This diversified toolkit has historically helped dampen volatility and limit drawdowns in turbulent markets. It won’t shoot the lights out in a raging bull market, but for those prioritising resilience over excitement, it merits consideration.”

Emma Wall, chief investment strategist at Hargreaves Lansdown, adds her support for Personal Assets Trust too.

She says Yonge and Lyon are “tried and tested fund managers who deliver on their mandate of capital preservation and steady growth over time. The trust’s allocation to gold has been welcome in recent years, as has their focus on downside protection. The board also has a well-executed discount control mechanism.”

Trusts for moderate risk investors

Hollands highlighted Temple Bar Investment Trust (LSE:TMPL) as one that “takes a disciplined value approach to investing predominantly in UK equities”.

Led by managers Nick Purves and Ian Lance at Redwheel, the team “focuses on companies trading at meaningful discounts to their assessment of intrinsic worth, rather than simply low near-term earnings multiples,” he adds.

“A strong emphasis on balance sheet resilience helps avoid value traps. The bias towards large and mid-sized financially robust dividend-paying companies combined with a strong value discipline makes this a relatively defensive way to access UK equities but with an excellent track record.”

Paul Angell, head of investment research at AJ Bell, went for City of London Investment Trust (LSE:CTY), which he says was “all about giving investors a blend of income and growth.

“That’s appealing to investors of all ages. Younger investors may want to reinvest any dividends to enjoy the benefits of compounding, while older investors typically welcome regular dividends to help pay the bills.

“Key to City of London is a long history of raising the dividend, giving investors a growing income stream. While it invests in big companies on the UK market, a big chunk of earnings from these companies is generated elsewhere in the world. That gives City of London some built-in geographical diversification.”

HL’s Wall also tipped the trust. “It is not sensible to hold a trust with a single region exposure without others to add diversification, but assuming an investor is looking to add to their portfolio this tax year, City of London is my pick. Manager Job Curtis is one of the most experienced UK equity income investors in the industry, running a dividend hero trust invested in quality cash-generative companies. Reinvest the dividends if you’re looking for growth.”

Caldwell also picked Murray International Trust plc (LSE:MYI). “Given global stock markets are becoming increasingly concentrated and there are growing fears of the AI theme potentially being overheated, I am looking more towards those investment trusts that use their full global remit in having a good chunk of exposure (around a third in total) to Asia Pacific and Latin America. Murray International ticks this box.”

He says the Murray portfolio is “very different from the wider market, which gives it plenty of opportunity to add value versus a global index fund or ETF”, with US exposure only 30%, much lower than the MSCI World Index’s allocation of 70%.

“It has a yield of 3.5% and has demonstrated it is a consistent dividend payer with 21 consecutive years of dividend increases.”

Trusts for adventurous investors

For adventurous investors, Wall suggested JP Morgan Emerging Markets Investment Trust (LSE:JMG), which is managed by emerging markets veteran Austin Forey and John Citron.

“It is one of the best ways for investors to access the growth in developing economies,” she says. “The managers benefit from a well resourced team of over 100 investment professionals across nine countries, giving them eyes in most corners of the market. We think this is invaluable given the vast range of countries, cultures and companies within their investable universe.

“Emerging markets are likely to be volatile – as we have seen in recent market activity – but over the long term this trust offers diversification and opportunities for growth.”

Hollands recommended Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust PLC (LSE:TEM, FRA:1NK), suggesting it is a great option for long-term investors prepared to tolerate greater volatility in pursuit of opportunities in some of the fastest growing economies globally. 

“Launched in 1989, well before China had joined the World Trade Organisation, this trust was a pioneer in emerging market investing and is still going strong today,” Hollands says. “Managers Chetan Sehgal and Andrew Ness take a patient, pragmatic approach, seeking companies with sustainable earnings power that they believe are mispriced. The portfolio is well diversified by stock, sector and geography.”

AJ Bell’s Angell also points to Polar Capital Technology Trust PLC (LSE:PCT), as technology is at the heart of businesses around the world, seen as central to improving productivity.

“PCT seeks to stay one step ahead of the curve by backing companies leading innovation and shaping the future. The portfolio is big on semiconductor-related stocks, hardware, and electronic equipment, as well as a broad spread of names using technology to their advantage. It even has positions in construction-related companies whose goods and services are being used to help build the massive infrastructure needed to run AI.”

He says the managers reduced software exposure “in good time”, ahead of the recent pullbacks when new versions of Claude AI models spooked many investors.

“The shares currently trade at 8% below the underlying value of their assets, meaning this is a way to buy into big names like Nvidia and Microsoft at a discount.”