The Top 20 shows a wide variety of regional and themed funds covering nearly all parts of the globe and investment sectors.

Fundsmith Equity, Fidelity Asia and Lindsell Train UK Equity are among the most popular funds on the platform.

In terms of investment companies (investment trusts) the highly regarded Scottish Mortgage Trust is one of the most popular.

Baillie Gifford has five funds in the top 20 and Lindsell Train has two. Four of the funds are bond funds. The data covers the period from 1 January this year to the end of November.

Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, said 2021 had been testing year for  advisers in terms of fund selection with markets difficult to read.

He said: “Advisers continued to put money into bond funds, as part of a diversified approach to portfolio management in a highly uncertain world, but also chose to allocate money to Asia Pacific funds, which demonstrates some appetite for risk too.

“Fundsmith Equity retains the crown of most popular fund with advisers, which shows the successful long term buy and hold investment strategy is not just a hit with DIY investors.

“Baillie Gifford offerings also proved popular, with the investment house bagging five of the top twenty most popular fund spots. Advisers are also sticking with Lindsell Train despite poor performance this year, clearly keeping an eye on the long term and the returns delivered by the Lindsell Train management duo in the past.”

Mr Khalaf said 2022 was also likely to be a challenging year due to the pandemic, inflationary concerns and rising interest rates. High equity valuations in the US will also give investors “pause for thought,” he said.

Top 20 most popular funds and trusts with advisers on the AJ Bell Investcentre platform in 2021