Abrdn will close its Short Duration Credit fund in two months’ time, Portfolio Adviser has learned.
In a letter to shareholders seen by Portfolio Adviser, Abrdn said the fund had suffered outflows and a gradual decline in its net asset value in recent years to the point it was “no longer commercially viable”.
Assets at the end of March stood at just under £31m, according to estimates from Morningstar, a sliver of the £255m it held five years ago.
Rising inflation has put a damper on investor appetite for fixed income funds, but Abrdn Short Duration Credit has been in redemption since April 2019.
The fund was originally launched in 2003 at Standard Life Investments and has been run by Daniel McKernan and Mark Munro since 2013.
Despite a tougher time for fixed income, Abrdn Short Duration Credit is in the top quartile of the IA Sterling Corporate Bond sector over all major timeframes, though it has lost investors money over the past year.
It received top marks for performance, quality of service and costs in Abrdn’s latest assessment of value (AoV) report, which named and shamed 10 other funds for trailing their respective benchmarks.
| 6m | 1y | 3y | 5y | |
| Abrdn Short Duration Credit | -2.9 | -1.8 | 6.7 | 10.4 |
| IA Sterling Corporate Bond | -5.9 | -6.4 | 3.9 | 8.1 |
Source: Trustnet
Explaining the closure, an Abrdn spokesperson said: “We continually review our fund range and underlying share classes to ensure that our offering meets the requirements of clients and customers as well as our strategic priorities.”
Closure is scheduled for 22 June 2022.
Abrdn’s Short Duration Credit fund is the latest in its line-up to shutter its doors.
Last summer, Portfolio Adviser also revealed it would be liquidating Lesley Duncan’s UK Impact Employment Opportunities Equity fund, which was caught up in the Boohoo scandal.
This followed several other closures, including the UK Recovery Equity fund and Global High Yield Bond fund.
See also: Abrdn outflows slow to £6.2bn in ‘reset’ year as Man Group assets jump 20%
