Funds with exposure to the US market were the most bought by advisers using the AJ Bell platform in May.
The £2bn Schroders US Mid Cap fund, run by Jenny Jones, was the most bought on the platform.
Next most popular was the £2.9bn Old Mutual North American Equity fund, run by Ian Heslop and colleagues.
This fund is the second best performer out of 55 funds in the IA North America sector over the past five years to 5 June, returning 138 per cent, compared with 97 per cent for the sector average.
Only two funds with a focus on investing in the UK make the top ten.
Nick Train’s £5.3bn Lindsell Train UK Equity fund, which has returned 92 per cent over the past five years to 5 June, compared with 51 per cent for the average fund in the IA UK All Companies sector, was the 9th most bought.
The only other UK equity fund in the top ten is Richard Watts £3.7bn Old Mutual UK Mid Cap fund, which has returned 121 per cent over the past five years, compared with 53 per cent for the average fund in the IA UK All Companies sector in the same time period.
Richard Woolnough’s £23.8bn Optimal Income fund, which primarily invests in bonds, was the most bought bond fund.
Mr Woolnough was one of the few investors to publicly forecast that a financial crisis was imminent a decade ago, and that it would originate within the banking system.
In a year of parse returns for bond investors, Mr Woolnough has returned over 2 per cent during the past twelve months to 5 June, compared with less than one per cent for the average fund in the Sterling Strategic bond sector.
Ryan Hughes, head of active portfolios at AJ Bell said: “The threat of a trade war with China and rising interest rates don’t seem to have put advisers off the US, where President Trump’s tax plans and a solid Q1 earnings season are having a positive effect on markets.
"Europe is also proving popular with the long term recovery prospects outweighing political unrest in Italy and the growth opportunities in Asia are also catching the attention of advisers.
"The UK continues to be out of favour, with economic growth stalling and Brexit lurking in the shadows."
