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The investment manager said hedge fund deleveraging, investor fear, double-digit equity market declines and the outperformance of financial companies over resources had hit its £52.6m Global Opportunities fund and its Global investment trust. But it said it still favoured economies with strong current accounts and growth prospects.

Both vehicles have extensive emerging market and natural resource holdings. The Global Opportunities fund holds 11.6 per cent in resources, along with Asia funds, a Balkan property portfolio and a specialist oil and gas fund.

The Global investment trust is strongly weighted towards emerging Europe, with positions in the Firebird Republics, Prosperity Voskhod, Ukrainian Investment, DH Russia Arbitrage, JPMorgan Russian Securities, Firebird New Russia and Baring Vostok Investments funds. It also holds an additional 9.6 per cent in resources and further positions in China portfolios.

Russia has had to close its stock markets several times over the past month and a half following severe falls. Another popular holding with multi-managers, the £339.8m Neptune Russia & Greater Russia fund, lost 35 per cent over one year to 13 October.

SVM said it had made few changes during September. In the Global investment trust, it halved its position in the BlackRock Latin American investment trust and sliced a small amount off its JPMorgan Russian Securities holding when valuations looked attractive.

In the Global Opportunities fund, it sold its BlackRock Commodities Income portfolio and topped up its South African Property Opportunities fund position at a 60 per cent discount to NAV.

SVM's chief worry remained power-supply problems in South Africa, which it said affected a third of properties in the portfolio.

Over the last year, the Global Opportunities fund has declined 24.6 per cent against an average of 20.9 per cent for the Global Growth sector and has ranked 147th out of 183 funds.