Aviva Investors has suspended and plan to close its £159m Asia Pacific Property fund and informed investors they will have to wait 12 to 24 months to redeem their positions.
Dealing on the fund was suspended as of midday today and the fund will close on August 21.
Aviva came to the decision after two large investors informed the firm they were planning to withdraw their holdings, which make up 75 per cent of the fund.
The group advised investors in a letter that because of “complexities of selling commercial property and dismantling the associated legal structures within the fund” switches and redemptions would take at least 12 to 24 months to complete.
The cash in the fund will be used for the initial redemptions and switches.
The fund has struggled in recent years. In the past three years has lost 19.1 per cent, while the IA property sector has returned 28 per cent, according to data from FE Analytics.
