Emerging markets pioneer Mark Mobius is finally retiring at the age of 87, leaving his Mobius (MMIT ) investment trust formally in the hands of partner Carlos Hardenberg.

In a stock exchange announcement announcing the trust’s five-year anniversary, the company said it had been notified that Mobius would step back from Mobius Capital Partners, which he co-founded with Hardenberg in 2018 after they both left Franklin Templeton where they both had managed Templeton Emerging Markets (TEM).

Mobius said he was ‘proud’ of his team’s ‘strong performance’ which ‘proves that a concentrated and differentiated portfolio of high-quality stocks can generate exceptional returns’.

‘As a shareholder of the MMIT, I will be following the company’s progress closely and will continue to be available to the team and the board,’ he said.

Mobius owns 12.1% of shares in MMIT were trading just over a penny higher at 126.6p.

The trust will continue to be managed by Mobius Capital Partners with Hardenberg leading a team of emerging market specialists. Hardenberg said he would promote the ‘most talented employees to the role of partners’.

Hardenberg extended his ‘heartfelt gratitude’ to Mobius for his ‘exceptional contributions to emerging market investing over his long career’ which saw him launch Templeton Emerging Markets as the first listed fund in its sector in 1987.

Maria Luisa Cicognani, chair of MMIT, said she looked forward to ‘continuing to work with Mark, drawing on his support and vast knowledge of emerging markets, as MCP progresses with a strong and committed team’.