Assets under management at City of London Investment Group were down 23% for the year to May 31, as the emerging markets-focused fund manager said that active management of closed-end funds needs to be better explained to consumers.

The firm's funds under management ended the year to May 31 at $4.5bn, down from $5.8bn a year earlier, and had fallen a further 1.7% to $4.4bn by the end of August, according to its financial year-end results published on Monday.