Pictet has soft closed its Global Environmental Opportunities Fund after the strategy saw more than €4bn in net inflows since the start of 2020.

The group confirmed the fund is closed to new retail and wholesale investors, but existing investors can still invest.

The soft closing is applicable to investors based in Asia, a spokeswoman said.

A statement said: “It comes as no surprise that 2020 saw heightened interest into environmentally focused funds as investors increasing allocate to ESG themes. As one of the more established impact investment firms Pictet Asset Management saw strong flows into two strategies in particular: Pictet-Global Environmental Opportunities and Pictet-Clean Energy.”

In January 2020, the Global Environmental Opportunities Fund’s assets under management stood at around €2bn, according to FE Analytics.

However, due to the increased appetite for responsible investment strategies spurred by the pandemic, AUM climbed to €7.8bn a year later. As at 22 March 2021, FE recorded AUM at €7.6bn.

The group said some capacity had been reserved in the strategy, which is managed by a team including Luciano Diana (pictured), for institutional investors, where the client investment decision making process is taken over a longer time- frame.

“Pictet Asset Management’s approach is to soft close funds before capacity is exceeded in order to protect the alpha for existing investors. Factors that determine soft-closure include: liquidity, resources, investment style and alpha generation,” the statement added.

The second fund seeing higher inflows the Pictet-Clean Energy Fund, with €2.7bn of net new money in 2020, remains open to investment.

The Global Environmental Opportunities Fund has returned 57.2% over the past three years to 22 March, compared to its peer group return – the IA Global sector – of 44.7%.