BNP Paribas Asset Management has hard closed its £1.3bn Japanese smaller companies fund.
The Parvest Equity Japan Small Cap fund has seen assets swell after recent strong performance.
According to the latest factsheet, the fund returned 29.4 per cent in the year to May 2017.
Meanwhile, the MSCI Japan Index, is up 15.4 per cent over the same period.
Fund manager Shunsuke Matsushima said underweight positions in banks and retailers had helped returns, and some of the fund’s best performers had been chemicals company Ivy Cosmetics and services firm Link and Motivation.
The fund is a top quartile performer over both one and three year periods, ranked third among 17 funds in its peer group over three years.
Such strong performance has meant the fund has seen significant inflows in recent months. As a result new investments into the fund have been suspended, with effect from 30 June.
The firm stated the decision was made to protect the interests of current investors.
It said the fund, which focuses on smaller, value stocks, would see its ability to meet its objectives impacted by further inflows. It is not clear how long the fund will stay closed.
Adrian Lowcock, investment director at Architas, said: "Japanese smaller companies have benefited from structural reforms and domestic growth in the country, yet stocks remain attractively valued compared to those in developed markets. Unsurprisingly, that has attracted investors’ attention and seen inflows increase."
