Clients aged 30-54 are the most likely to have been the first to invest in equity ISAs in the new tax year, according to Hargreaves Lansdown data.

These ‘earlybird investors’ are followed by investors in the 55-64 age group.

HL says that in the 30-54 age group, almost half as many HL clients invested in the first month of this tax year as in the whole of the 2020/21 tax year.

Men are more likely to be earlybird investors than women with a larger percentage of male HL clients investing in the first month of the tax year.

In signs that investors are also becoming more confident, HL says the number of regular savers who put money into a HL stocks and shares ISA in the first month of the tax year is up 37% from a year earlier.

The data also shows that HL clients over 80 were the least likely to be earlybirds, followed by those aged 65-80. 

Sarah Coles, personal finance analyst at HL, said: “Middle aged people are the first off the blocks when it comes to ISA investment. This tax year they’re favouring international investments, including US funds, and within the UK, smaller companies are garnering plenty of attention."

Among the most popular funds backed by earlybird HL investors are:

The most popular funds among early birds this tax year (in alphabetical order):

Baillie Gifford American

Baillie Gifford Managed

Fundsmith Equity

HL Select Global Growth Shares

HSBC FTSE 250 Index

Legal & General International Index Trust

Legal & General US Index 

Marlborough Nano-Cap Growth

Marlborough UK Micro-Cap Growth

Rathbone Global Opportunities

Source: Hargreaves Lansdown