One of the reasons commentators have given for this is that investors now have more information and so are aware of the best funds out there, causing them to head for the same top-performers.
However, our entirely quant-driven FE Crown Fund Rating system and FE Alpha Manager awards allow us to isolate the top-performing portfolios regardless of size and visibility, and they show that there are many quality funds still flying under investors' radars.
FE Alpha Manager David Coombs told FE Trustnet this morning that fund groups are too slow to close funds that get too big, putting the onus on investors to find smaller alternatives before it is too late.
Here are five high-scoring funds in the sectors most affected by fund closures that are yet to see huge inflows.
Evenlode Income
Evenlode Income is a five crown-rated portfolio in the IMA UK Equity Income sector. It is a top-quartile performer over three years, but has only £28.3m in assets under management.
Our data shows it has made 61.29 per cent over the last three years while the sector has made just 50.08 per cent.
Performance of fund vs sector over 3yrs
Source: FE Analytics
These figures are very close to the numbers produced by FE Alpha Manager Neil Woodford’s multi-billion pound portfolios.
Evenlode Income, which is managed by Hugh Yarrow, is more concentrated than the majority of funds in the sector, with 57.8 per cent in the top-10 holdings.
It is currently only yielding 3.26 per cent, below average for the sector.
This may be in part because some of its largest positions have done so well in recent months: the fund’s top holding is GlaxoSmithKline, while it holds 22.7 per cent in healthcare, one of the strongest sectors over the past year.
It holds 17 per cent in mid caps and 2 per cent in small caps.
It is a top-quartile performer this year.
The only blot on its copybook came in 2012, when it returned 11.96 per cent compared with the sector's 14.01 per cent. In all other calendar years since launch in 2009 it has produced top-quartile figures.
The fund is available with a minimum initial investment of £1,000 and has ongoing charges of 1.83 per cent.
McInroy & Wood Emerging Markets
Emerging market investors have been particularly affected by fund closures this year, with some of the few top-performing options that are still open now raising initial charges.
This is unfortunate given that most analysts expect this sector to deliver some of the highest returns in the future.
One fund that remains open and has a stellar track record is the £45m McInroy & Wood Emerging Markets fund.
It has five FE Crowns after producing top-quartile returns over one-, three- and five-year periods.
Over the longer period it has made 84.88 per cent compared with 24.9 per cent from the IMA Global Emerging Markets sector, according to data from FE Analytics.
Performance of fund vs sector over 5yrs
Source: FE Analytics
The fund has a high exposure to Asia, which makes up 61 per cent of the portfolio; Latin America is its next highest weighting, at 26 per cent of AUM.
Its steep initial investment of £10,000 keeps away some investors, but ongoing charges are just 1.69 per cent, below average in a traditionally expensive sector.
Aberdeen Asia Pacific & Japan
It may seem questionable to include this portfolio in the list; it is, after all, run by Aberdeen’s Asian equities team, headed by FE Alpha Manager Hugh Young, and is £305m in size.
However, it is dwarfed by the giant funds from Aberdeen and First State in the Asian and emerging market sectors, and is worth considering as one that may have passed investors by.
In recent months the fund has started to see decent inflows as the Japanese market has risen sharply, however prior to that it was overlooked during a period when having exposure to Japan was not a priority for the vast majority of investors.
As demonstrated by the period of Japanese outperformance in the past year, however, having a diversified exposure to Asia could make sense in the long-run.
The fund is the top-performing fund in the IMA Asia Pacific ex Japan sector over the past decade, with returns of 310.44 per cent.
Performance of fund vs sector and benchmark over 10yrs
Source: FE Analytics
While this is less than the 406.51 per cent made by Aberdeen Asia Pacific, which does not invest in Japan, there is no guarantee that the emerging Asian countries such as China will make the same gains they did in the first few years of the 2000s.
Also, if the Aberdeen funds in the IMA Asia Pacific ex Japan sector close, as some experts fear they may do, investors may prefer to be with a tried-and-tested house such as Aberdeen rather than one they know less about.
Aberdeen Asia Pacific & Japan requires a minimum initial investment of £500 and has ongoing charges of 1.8 per cent.
SVG UK Focus
For investors who want concentrated exposure to UK equity, SVG UK Focus may be worth a look.
The £92m fund has won five FE Crowns after placing in the first quartile over one, three and five years.
Over the past three years it has made 69.74 per cent while the IMA UK All Companies sector is up just 47.24 per cent.
Although the fund does not set itself a particular benchmark, for comparative purposes the FTSE All Share has made 47.72 per cent over the same period.
Performance of fund vs sector and index over 3yrs
Source: FE Analytics
The fund is managed by Jamie Seaton, and Adam Steiner, with Jamie Seaton taking over the day to day responsibility in April 2009.
The managers hold up to 35 companies which they value using private equity techniques.
They aim to combine the best elements of private and public equity investing, looking not just at growth and value metrics but also corporate activity and de-gearing.
The fund requires a minimum initial investment of £10,000 and has ongoing charges of 1.61 per cent. It is domiciled in Ireland.
SVM UK Growth
Another option in this sector is the £68m SVM UK Growth fund, which has four FE crowns and is managed by FE Alpha Manager Margaret Lawson with Colin McLean.
The portfolio is top-quartile over three and five years, making 54.87 per cent over the longer period; the sector made 36.22 per cent in this time.
The fund holds three baskets of companies: a core of large cap growth stocks, a tactical collection of stocks which are tilted to more economically sensitive businesses as appropriate, and an "alpha kicker" bucket of picks that are intended to exploit price anomalies.
The fund has a significant exposure to mid cap companies, which has helped to improve returns but also increased volatility.
According to our data it has an annualised volatility over five years of 19.01 per cent compared with the 16.87 per cent of the FTSE All Share.
It is available with a minimum initial investment of £1,000 and has ongoing charges of 1.93 per cent.
