How the Balanced fund works

The Balanced fund is a ready-made fund built and managed by the experts at Invesco – one of the world's biggest fund managers.

It invests in a range of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which are essentially a basket of investments.

For example, the S&P 500 ETF is a basket of the 500 biggest companies in the US.

By investing in the Balanced fund, your money is:

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    Invested in thousands of companies

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    Spread across countries around the world

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    Diversified across a wide mix of industries

In short, the Balanced fund combines different ETFs to create one globally diversified investment portfolio. Your money is invested in a fund that spreads it across companies, countries and industries around the world. It’s an easy and affordable way to spread your investment risk.


The Balanced fund at a glance

Where your money goes

Equities – 51%

Investing in companies globally for growth.

Bonds – 49%

Providing stability through lending to companies and governments.

Your Balanced fund is a mutual fund that invests primarily through ETFs. ETFs track markets rather than trying to beat them — giving you broad diversification across thousands of companies worldwide.

Hundreds of companies, one simple fund

The Balanced fund doesn't just invest in one country, industry or type of investment. It spreads your money across global markets – combining shares and bonds, developed and emerging economies, and a wide range of industries.

This diversification helps reduce reliance on any single company, region or sector. While it doesn’t remove risk completely, diversification can help reduce reliance on any single company, region or sector.

As with all investments, the value can go down as well as up and you could get back less than you invest.

What shares does the Balanced fund invest in?

Because Balanced blends growth with stability, around half of your money is invested in company shares across global markets.

Investment

Weight

US Companies Fund

Invesco MSCI USA Universal Screened UCITS ETF

22.4%

UK Companies Fund

Invesco FTSE All Share Screened & Tilted UCITS ETF

9.6%

Developed World Fund

Invesco MSCI World Universal Screened UCITS ETF

6.6%

Emerging Markets Fund

Invesco MSCI Emerging Markets Universal Screened UCITS ETF

5.1%

Europe (ex-UK) Companies Fund

Invesco MSCI Europe ex UK Universal Screened UCITS ETF

4.5%

Japan Companies Fund

Invesco MSCI Japan Universal Screened UCITS ETF

2.5%

These allocations are accurate as of January 2026. Fund holdings can change over time. We update this page periodically in line with the latest diversification data from Invesco.

What bonds does the Balanced fund invest in?

Around half of your Balanced fund is invested in bonds.

Bonds are essentially loans to governments or companies. They tend to move less dramatically than shares and can help cushion market swings.

Investment

Weight 

UK Corporate Bonds 

Invesco GBP Corporate Bond Screened & Tilted UCITS ETF

14.2%

Global High Yield Bonds 

Invesco Global High Yield Corporate Bond ESG Climate Transition UCITS ETF

7.3%

European Corporate Bonds 

Invesco EUR IG Corporate Bond ESG Climate Transition UCITS ETF

5.2%

UK Government Bonds (1 -5 Year) 

Invesco UK Gilt 1 - 5 Year UCITS ETF

4.7%

US Corporate Bonds 

Invesco USD IG Corporate Bond ESG Climate Transition UCITS ETF

4.4%

Euro Government Bonds

Invesco Euro Government Bond UCITS ETF

4.2%

UK Government Bonds 

Invesco UK Gilts UCITS ETF

3.5%

US Government Bonds (1 - 3 Year) 

Invesco US Treasury 1 - 3 Year UCITS ETF

2.2%

US Government Bonds

Invesco US Treasury Bond UCITS ETF

1.9% 

Cash 

0.2% 

What countries does the Balanced fund invest in?

The Bold fund spreads your money across the world – so your investments aren't relying on just one country or region performing well.

Country 

Weighting 

United States 

43.6% 

United Kingdom 

24.4% 

France 

4.6% 

Japan 

3.3% 

Germany 

3.3% 

Italy  

2.2% 

Spain 

2.1% 

Netherlands 

1.8% 

Australia  

1.6% 

China 

1.4% 

What industries does the Balanced fund invest in?

The Balanced fund spreads your money across a range of industries. That means, if one sector experiences a downturn, others may perform well.

For example, during Covid, industries like airlines and restaurants performed pooly, while others, like video communication and health care, performed well.

Spreading your money across different industries helps minimise your investment risk.

Sector

What this includes 

Weight 

Financials 

Banks and insurance 

23.9%

Information Technology 

Software and semiconductors 

13.0%

Industrials 

Manufacturing and infrastructure 

7.3%

Health Care 

Medical and pharmaceutical companies 

7.1%

Consumer Discretionary 

Non-essential goods and services 

6.8%

Communication Services 

Telecoms and media 

6.5%

Consumer Staples 

Essential consumer goods 

4.4%

Materials 

Raw materials 

3.3%

Energy 

Energy production companies 

2.9% 

Real Estate 

Property companies 

2.7%

Utilities 

Electricity and water providers 

2.0%

Cash & equivalents 

Short-term holdings 

0.9%

What type of companies does the Balanced fund invest in?

This is the top 8 companies that the Balanced fund invests is (calculated as a percentage of your investment).

Company

What it does 

Balanced Weight 

Nvidia 

Semiconductor and AI technology 

1.4% 

Apple 

Consumer technology 

1.3%

Broadcom 

Semiconductor company 

1.1%

Amazon 

Retail and cloud computing 

0.9%

Microsoft 

Software and cloud services 

0.9%

Alphabet 

Google parent company 

0.7%

Alphabet (Class C) 

Second listed share class 

0.6%

GSK 

Pharmaceutical company 

0.6% 

Rooted in sustainability

The Balanced fund aims to invest at least 80% of your money in line with environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.

This includes avoiding certain industries, such as weapons and tobacco, and favouring companies with stronger ESG credentials or those improving over time.

Not every investment will score highly across all three areas. For example, a company operating in a higher-emissions sector may still be included if it performs strongly on social or governance measures.

You can find more information in your Sustainability Document, which can be found in the ‘Manage’ section of your investment dashboard in the Zopa app.

Ready to explore investing with Zopa?

Whether you’re investing for the first time or building on what you already have, it’s easy to get started in the Zopa app.  

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