Since then, the fund has continued to perform strongly; it is ranked second in its small-cap peer group over three years, on the back of an 88.2 per cent return. Fidelity believes the time has come to reopen the fund for wider access; existing investors have been assured that capacity will be monitored closely, with the prospect of another soft-closure in future if appropriate.

“The fund is one of the best performing funds,” said Ben Waterhouse of Fidelity. “Following a period of strong asset growth in 2013, we felt time was right to take pause for breath.”

“Now we’ve bolstered resources on the fund. Alex and Jonathan have worked to together for two years and performance remained strong. We are confident we can reopen the fund and will closely monitor capacity.”