Despite the Nasdaq suffering its steepest single-day percentage drop since June on the final trading day of October, retail investors kept adding to their technology holdings throughout the month.
Data from investing platform Interactive Investor (ii) show that Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) both ranked among the most purchased equities even as a late-month selloff rattled sentiment across the sector.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at ii, noted that anxiety was building in the market, saying: “Investors grew concerned about the heavy levels of AI-related spending. The Nasdaq ended the month in the red and suffered its biggest one-day percentage decline since June on the final trading day.”
That nervousness did little to change buying behavior, however, with Scholar adding: “Nevertheless, ii customers continued to buy shares in SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX), Nvidia and Micron (NASDAQ:MU), while Alphabet was a new entrant to the most bought stocks list.”
Alphabet’s debut on the most-bought equities ranking placed it fourth overall, with SpaceX holding third position and Nvidia coming in eighth for the month.
Away from technology, the Autumn Budget gave UK banking stocks a notable lift, with Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) claiming the top spot on ii’s most-purchased equities list for October.
NatWest Group (LON:NWG) and Barclays (LON:BARC) also featured prominently, benefiting from a combination of third-quarter earnings releases and a Budget announcement that increased the bank surcharge by a smaller margin than many in the sector had feared.
Scholar described the dynamic clearly: “Third quarter earnings reports released last month drew attention to the sector alongside the Autumn Budget when the chancellor announced plans to increase the bank surcharge, but by less than expected.”
Rolls-Royce (LON:RR) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) retained their places among the top picks for a second consecutive month, reflecting continued appetite for aerospace, defence, and mining exposure.
On the funds side, investors displayed a cautious streak by directing capital into money market instruments, with four such products appearing in ii’s top ten open-ended fund rankings, including the Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund and Vanguard’s Sterling Short-Term Money Market Fund.
Kyle Caldwell, funds and investment education expert at ii, framed the broader AI question weighing on fund investors: “One of the biggest debates occupying investors today is whether the enormous sums being spent on AI infrastructure and development will ultimately generate the earnings growth and profits the market is expecting.”
Caldwell also highlighted how index products dominated preferences, stating: “In the main, low-cost global exposure through index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is preferred. Some global tracker funds stick to developed markets, while ‘All-World’ approaches cast their nets wider and include emerging markets.”
Precious metals gained traction through the ETF wrapper, with iShares Physical Gold ETC and iShares Physical Silver ETC both making the most-bought index fund and ETF rankings, pointing to a portfolio-diversification motive running alongside the equity buying.
In the investment trust space, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LON:SMT) led all purchases, buoyed partly by its largest single holding, SpaceX, as of the end of September.
Two notable first-time entrants joined ii’s top ten trust list: Seraphim Space Investment Trust (LON:SSIT), which holds stakes in satellite and radar-focused businesses, and BlackRock World Mining Trust (LON:BRWM), alongside 3i Group (LON:III).
Caldwell said the breadth of trust selections reflected deliberate portfolio construction, noting: “Investors have been branching out into different sectors…the various strategies show that investors are casting their nets wide in an attempt to profit and build resilience into portfolios.”
The emergence of both a space-focused and a mining-focused trust among October’s new entrants suggests retail investors are looking beyond conventional equity themes to find differentiated sources of return heading into the final stretch of the year.
