Aegon is shutting eight retail funds

Aegon Asset Management is closing eight of its retail funds, cutting the number in the range from 23 to 15 and, as a result, is pulling out of the Asian and emerging markets sectors.

The move is part of a wider review of the firm&#39s retail presence. It says the funds being closed are not part of its core retail proposition.

The eight funds being shut early next year are American smaller companies, European smaller companies, Far East, Japan, Latin America, socially responsible equity funds and the Aegon cash and 100 index-tracking unit trusts.

Aegon says the funds only account for about £160m of the total of £30bn that it manages in the UK.

It is refocusing its retail fund range on UK, European, US equities and fixed income, saying feedback from IFAs is that these are the four areas where clients want to invest

Aegon says IFAs see limited demand for other funds which they say are best left to specialist managers.

It says this is the third major stage of the evolution of its retail fund business. It follows the company being reorganised into three markets in 2000 – retail, insured and institutional – and the retail fund range being split into mainstream, specialist and technical this year.

UK director Jon Bennett says: “Aegon&#39s current retail-fund range is largely one that we inherited when we were formed back in 1999 and so does not fully reflect market realities. We are taking this opportunity to align our fund range with the demands of our clients.”