Aberdeen Asset Management has closed its Emerging Markets and Global Emerging Markets Equity funds to new investments in order to reduce inflows and protect existing investors.

Devan Kaloo’s £6 billion Global Emerging Markets Equity fund and £2 billion Emerging Markets fund will soft close from April 2012.

According to Chelsea Financial Services, both existing smaller investors and regular monthly savers will be able to continue to invest.

Darius McDermott, managing director of Chelsea Financial Services, said he supported Aberdeen’s actions.

‘However, we are obviously disappointed that new investors won’t be able to invest in this fund, particularly as there is a lack of competition for decent alternatives in the sector,’ he added.

Hargreaves Lansdown’s senior analyst Meera Patel confirmed that the Aberdeen Emerging Markets fund has been removed from its Wealth 150 list of recommended funds for new investment.

She observed that the fund has seen strong inflows over the last year as investors were encouraged by its ‘excellent’ performance but that Aberdeen’s head of global emerging markets, Kaloo, thinks it has now reached its optimum size.

She continued, ‘Aberdeen believes that if the fund grew significantly bigger, it could compromise its successful investment approach.

‘We therefore view the restriction of inflows as a positive move for existing investors in the fund and do not believe investors need to take any action, provided the fund still meets their objectives.’

McDermott suggested that investors looking for an alternative fund consider the First State Global Emerging Markets Leaders.

‘While not performing quite as well as the Aberdeen fund, it is nonetheless a first quartile performer over one, three and five years, returning more than double the sector average over most of these periods,’ he explained.

The £2 billion First State Global Emerging Market Leaders fund is managed by Jonathan Asante and Glen Finegan.