Your ISA investment trusts

If you're considering adding investment trusts to your ISA, here is our list of the best trusts to add to your stocks and shares ISA

You may want to think about purchasing an investment trust if you plan to top off your stocks and shares ISA before the end of the tax year deadline.

Anyone attempting to make an investment decision faces a particularly difficult set of circumstances this ISA season.

The present market "has been marked by volatility, fuelled in part by market jitters over President Donald Trump's trade wars," according to Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at Interactive Investor.

However, Jobson goes on to say that "short-term turbulence should not sway investors." Investing is a long-term endeavor, and history demonstrates that those who persevere and stick with it typically reap rewards. What really matters is time spent in the market.

Under these conditions, investment trusts are something to think about. One of the best ways to obtain long-term and less liquid investments is through closed-ended funds, which can be used for venture capital trusts to invest in private companies or major infrastructure projects.

The BFIA portfolio of investment trusts currently includes Personal Assets (LON: PNL), Mid Wynd (LON: MWY), Scottish Mortgage (LON: SMT), Caledonia (LON: CLDN), Law Debenture (LON: LWDB), and AVI Global (LON: AGT). Are you thinking about adding an investment trust to your ISA?

What are the experts' recommendations for investment trusts outside of this collection that investors should consider adding to their stocks and shares ISA before the April deadline?

Investment trusts in the UK.

Given the positive start to the year for FTSE 100 stocks, UK investors might want to look more closely at their home market.

The largest FTSE 100 stocks are the primary focus of Interactive Investor's fund analyst, Tom Bigley, who identifies the City of London (LON:CTY) trust as a possible source of income.

Bigley suggests the Fidelity Special Values Investment Trust (LON:FSV) for investors seeking a more nuanced view of the UK, particularly those who believe the nation's stocks are cheap.

"Seeks to find unjustly cheap companies that are due a change in fortunes," he says of the trust. Despite having the ability to allocate up to 20% of net assets to non-UK listed stocks, the majority of its holdings are based in the UK.

Generally speaking, FSV looks for businesses that are trading at lower multiplestypically a price/earnings ratio of significantly less than 15xwhere the market has not yet realized the potential value. Bigley claims that because of this bias, Wright also discovers a lot of opportunities outside of the FTSE 100.

According to Jonathan Moyes, manager of Wealth Club's Portfolio Service, £10,000 invested in Special Values at the company's founding would have been worth 284,631 in February 2025"more than three times the amount you would have had if you invested in the UK stock market."

Investment trusts in Asia.

Asian businesses may profit from this year's rotation away from US stocks.

According to Schroder AsiaPacific Fund (LON:SDP) manager Abbas Barkhordar, investors may wish to diversify away from US megacaps in this climate without completely giving up on technology.

Barkhordar claims that "Entrepreneurial Asia" is "an obvious part of the world to consider." The 60 "high-quality but attractively valued Asian companies, with regional technology holdings playing a key role" are how SDP offers exposure.

As of February 28, Taiwan Semiconductor, a supplier to stock market behemoth Nvidia, is SDP's largest holding and is currently trading at an 11% discount to net asset value. In addition, the trust provides extensive exposure to Asian technology, encompassing brands such as Samsung Electronics, Delta Electronics, Tencent, Alibaba, and NetEase.

"If you can see the big picture, a well-informed focus on technology is a very exciting prospect, and a foray into the Asian market could prove an attractive and well-priced diversifier from US exposure," says Barkhordar.

Trusts for defensive investments.

Angell chose the Personal Assets trust, which is part of the BFIA portfolio of investment trusts, specifically for investors who are cautious.

"The seasoned manager, Sebastian Lyon, places a high degree of emphasis on capital preservation in this defensively managed multi-asset investment trust," says Paul Angell, head of investment research at AJ Bell. With concentrated equity holdings and minimal turnover, the trust is long-only.

Approximately 55% of the portfolio is currently invested in US and UK government bonds, with the remaining 30% in stocks and 10% in gold bullion. For investors wishing to safeguard their funds during the current market turbulence, that provides a certain level of security.

Worldwide investment trusts.

Investors may want to take a look at JPMorgan Global Growth and Income (LON:JGGI) for a worldwide viewpoint.

"JPMorgan Global Growth & Income has outperformed the MSCI AC World Index on a NAV total return basis in each calendar year from 2019 to 2024, representing the period under the current management team," writes Emma Bird, Winterflood's head of investment trusts research.

With an ongoing charges ratio of just 0.5 percent, the joint-lowest in the Global Equity Income peer group, JPMorgan Global Growth & Income provides a sizable, liquid, and inexpensive vehicle.