Fidelity China, the investment fund managed by star manager Anthony Bolton, has been forced to buy back a chunk of its shares for the first time in its history due to moribund market conditions.

The company bought back 350,000 shares for 85.625 pence ($1.376) each last week in two separate tranches, according to a filing on the London Stock Exchange. The firm spent a relatively small £380,000 buying back stock, compared with fund’s market capitalization of £573 million. 

The shares were bought back at a 5 per cent discount to its net asset value of 90.22 pence. 

Since the fund launched in April 2010 to much fanfare, the Fidelity China Special Situations Fund has slumped as much as 15 per cent in value compared with an 8.9 per cent drop in the MSCI China Index. 

In July, it emerged that the fund had suffered big losses and withdrawals in its first annual results as investors, spooked by the volatility in the Asian markets, rushed to sell their shares. Bolton admitted in the annual results that the fund's performance had been "disappointing" following a difficult period for Chinese equities. 

A spokesman declined to comment on the buyback.

In its annual report, Fidelity China Special Situations PLC said: "The Board recognises that the price of the shares of the Company is affected by the interaction of supply and demand in the market as well as the NAV per share. This being the case, the market price of the shares may, from time to time, represent either a discount or a premium to NAV. The Board regularly reviews the difference between the market price of the shares and the NAV per share, and reserves the right to manage the difference through the powers granted by the shareholders of the Company."

Fidelity China Special Situations is the largest China fund listed on the LSE. The portfolio is made up primarily of securities issued by companies listed in China or Hong Kong and Chinese companies listed elsewhere.