Asset management firm Aviva Investors is to close its High Yield Bond fund after a multi-year string of outflows dating back to 2018.

The fund has had a turbulent few years, being hit by Covid-19 in Q1 of 2020, where it saw losses of over 13 percent.

Rising inflation in Q1 of 2022 also hit the fund, leading to losses of 2.8 percent.

According to Morningstar, assets under management (AUM) peaked at £209 million in December of 2016, but the fund has now shrunk to £56 million AUM.

The closure follows a review initiated in February 2022, after an Aviva value assessment report determined that the fund was not performing to the levels expected.

The report stated that: “[Although the fund] compares favourably to similar funds in its peer group over the same time period.….performance is considered to be at the lower end of the range of expected outcomes for an actively managed fund of this nature.”

The fund focuses on UK sub-investment grade bonds, either sterling denominated or hedged to sterling. It was launched in 2008.

Aviva confirmed the fund’s closure, but declined to comment further.