Boring Money Rated Investment Trusts 2026
Boring Money extends its Rated methodology to investment trusts for the first time.
9 Sep, 2026
Why we rated investment trusts this year
Since launching our Best Buy Awards in 2019, Boring Money has built a strong track record of independent, consumer-facing recognition, with coverage across homepages, newspapers, billboards, the tube, and TV. Our various logos continue to be one of the most trusted signals for consumers.
This year, we have extended that validation to the investment trust sector, helping everyday investors identify trusts that are well-governed, deliver credible performance, and go the extra mile to engage and communicate with retail investors.
These logos launch amidst a backdrop of investment trusts facing declining consumer awareness, as found in our Investment Trust Report 2026:
Investment trust ownership among UK self-directed investors fell to 12% in 2026, down from 15% the year before.
Awareness of investment trusts among self-directed investors has fallen considerably over the past two years, from 58% in 2024 to 48% in 2026. The decline is evident across all age groups but is most pronounced among 18–34-year-olds, where awareness has dropped from 48% to 36%. By contrast, ETF awareness has climbed from 31% to 39% over the same period. “Old-fashioned” and “expensive” remain the two associations investors most commonly attach to trusts today.
There are clear discrepancies in how investment trust and ETF holders trust media channels for investment information. Nearly half of ETF holders (48%) trust financial influencers, versus just a third (34%) of investment trust holders. In contrast, 74% of investment trust holders trust print media, against 53% of ETF holders.
The Boring Money Rated Investment Trust badge is issued directly by Boring Money and is based on our independent research and assessment. Every trust carrying the badge has been screened against defined performance, size, currency, discount-to-NAV, gearing and sector criteria, and is also separately assessed by a panel of judges on the quality of its consumer-facing communications.
About Boring Money Rated
Boring Money's research is independent, impartial and underpinned by the voice of the customer. These are the first-year standouts as our investment trust methodology beds in, recognising the firms doing the most to put retail investors first.
This year, we also had six Retail Investor Champions.
See the full list of the Retail Investor Champions, along with judge commentary on how they achieved this award.
Boring Money Rated Investment Trusts 2026 – full list of winners
Data sources
Findings on investment trust ownership, awareness and consumer perception are drawn from Boring Money's Investment Trust Report 2026 – Adapting for Growth and The ETF Report 2026, based on:
a survey of 6,000 nationally representative UK adults, January 2026 (1,717 non-advised investors)
a survey of 853 DIY platform investors, June 2026 (including 306 investment trust holders);
a survey of 782 self-directed investors from the Boring Money panel, June–July 2026 (including 240 investment trust holders)
a survey of 481 self-directed investors from the Boring Money panel, July 2026 (including 240 investment trust holders).
