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IFAs have described Ed Burke's departure from fund management as "a blow" for Invesco Perpetual, despite applauding the firm's succession planning.

Last week it was announced Mr Burke was stepping down from his responsibilities to take early retirement, with Stephen Anness and Martin Walker taking over management of his portfolios with immediate effect.

Mr Walker will run the £1.06bn UK Growth, £180.7m UK Equity and the UK component of the £1.36bn International Equity funds, while Mr Anness will take over the £283.2m UK Aggressive fund.

While IFAs welcomed the quick response and internal promotion, they argued it would be a hard task to replace Mr Burke.

Darius McDermott, managing director of London-based IFA Chelsea Financial Services, said: "Obviously this is a blow to Invesco to lose such a highly regarded manager, but they have a stong team and their succession planning well in advance.

"We have downgraded his funds to a 'hold' recommendation, which will remain in place until we have formally met with the two new managers."

However, he warned the recommendation may not return to "buy" if the new managers failed to impress.

"Martin Walker has been second quartile since he took over his current portfolios, which is very steady, but not spectacular," said Mr McDermott. "We are looking for managers who are more consistently first quartile."

Gavin Haynes, managing director of Bristol-based IFA Whitechurch Securities, agreed it would be tough to replicate the returns Mr Burke had generated on his funds.

"Mr Burke is a high-profile name, so it is a blow to have lost him," he said. "We are long-term holders of his Aggressive fund, and performance on that has been exceptional. We will say to clients to continue to hold."

Mr Haynes added: "I'm not aware of any retail track record by Mr Anness, so we will certainly want to meet him and see what his approach is. We would expect them to put someone very capable in charge."

A spokeswoman at Invesco said: "While we have one of the longest-serving investment teams in the industry, it is inevitable that individual circumstances change. The key is to have good long-term succession planning in place."

Over the medium term, Mr Burke's funds have underperformed their peer groups.

Over three years to 9 June, the UK Growth fund has returned 20.81 per cent, while the UK Aggressive fund has returned 28.34 per cent, compared with the UK All Companies sector average of 30.87 per cent, according to Morningstar.

Meanwhile, the offshore UK Equity fund has returned 18.52 per cent, compared with the Equity UK sector average of 32.28 per cent.

Also, as a result of Mr Burke's decision to step down from day-to-day fund management, Invesco is now applying to the FSA to streamline the fund range through a number of mergers.

The £202.4m UK Opportunities fund, run by Mr Walker, will be merged into the UK Growth portfolio, while his other portfolio, the £12.39m UK Focus fund, will be merged into the UK Aggressive vehicle.

Ian Trevers, head of distribution, said this came in response to feedback from investors. "The manager changes have provided a natural opportunity for us to implement our plans."