- AJ Bell made three changes to its Favourite Funds list in Q4 2025
- The FSSA Asia Focus fund was added to the list
- The BlackRock UK Special Situations fund and BlackRock UK Income fund were both removed from the list
- These funds were removed due to underwhelming performance and a decline in active risk respectively
- The removals consolidate our active UK fund picks to three apiece in the UK All Companies and UK Equity Income sectors
Paul Angell, head of investment research at AJ Bell, comments:
“Our Favourite Funds list is under constant review to ensure we have the highest conviction in our selections. We analyse each fund’s investment strategy, fund managers, and their teams.
“Changes in these areas can result in updates to the list to ensure it continually consists of funds which we believe have a strong chance of achieving their investment objectives.
“Between October and December 2025, we made the decision to remove two BlackRock funds from the list, and added the FSSA Asia Focus fund as detailed below.”
- Removed: BlackRock UK Special Situations fund
“Following a review of our UK active fund selections, we’ve removed the BlackRock UK Special Situations fund from our Favourite Funds list. While Roland Arnold is a credible manager, there has been a reshuffle of UK funds and personnel at BlackRock in recent years which has coincided with a disappointing performance in the fund.
“While the team specialises in smaller companies, larger companies make up 40-50% of the portfolio. Therefore, we have higher conviction in our remaining growth-orientated UK funds on the list, which are also available at lower fees.”
- Removed: BlackRock UK Income fund
“We’ve also removed the BlackRock UK Income fund from the list due to our stronger conviction in other income-generating UK equity funds.
“There’s been a decline in the amount of active risk taken in the fund in recent years, meaning the portfolio has become more similar to its benchmark and therefore its passively managed competitors.”
- Added: FSSA Asia Focus fund
“In the last quarter we added The FSSA Asia Focus fund to our Favourite Funds list. The fund benefits from a disciplined investment approach as fund manager Martin Lau and his team seek businesses with excellent management teams, robust balance sheets, strong pricing power and low debt to ensure that invested companies are able to maintain sustainable growth.
“When it comes to sustainability, invested companies will have low exposure to coal, gambling, tobacco, armaments and other controversial sectors.
“The fund’s addition followed the removal of the Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders fund in August.”
AJ Bell Favourite Funds explained:
The AJ Bell Favourite Funds is a list of funds across different sectors and risk appetites that have been extensively researched and selected by our in-house investments team, designed to help investors with their own investment research. The list is chosen by our investment specialists, is regularly updated, and features only funds that we believe offer a combination of a clear and robust investment philosophy and process, a proven management track record and value for investors.