The portfolio is run by company founder Heather Manners and will close at $160m. It launched in 2008, and Manners has always made it clear that the strategy was capacity-constrained.
The Dublin-domiciled fund is up 96.4% over the past five years, compared to an average return of 51.8% from the wider offshore Equity – Asia Pacific ex Japan index.
In a note to clients, Manners said: "The underlying liquidity of the stocks we own specifically and the portfolio in general, have been a key part of the investment process and, accordingly, with the fund at circa $160m, we have taken the decision to soft-close it to maintain and protect the current liquidity characteristics of the underlying portfolio and safeguard the interests of our investors."
Existing investors as at 27 September will be able to increase their exposure.
It is not the first fund to have been capacity constrained by the group which soft-closed Tom Naughton’s Asian Equity Income fund, when it reached $400m in size. The fund had launched in 2011.
The group has been a favourite with multi-manages with F&C’s Gary Potter and Premier’s Simon Evan-Cook supporters of its funds.
Meanwhile, the Prusik Asia fund remains open. It has lagged the Asia Pacific ex Japan sector, rising 32.2%, against an average rise of 51.8%. However, recent performance has been much stronger, with the fund substantially ahead of the sector.
