Following Henderson,Columbia Threadneedle, Standard Life, Aviva and M&G, Canada Life is the sixth company to suspend property trading to stem outflows after the UK's decision to leave the EU. Currently, over half of the £25 billion IA property sector have suspended trading.

“Over half of the property fund sector is now on ice, and will remain so until managers raise enough cash to meet redemptions. To do that they need to sell properties, and as any homeowner knows, that is not a quick or painless procedure.

These funds are therefore likely to be closed for weeks and months rather than simply a matter of days. Clearly there has been a knee-jerk reaction to Brexit in the commercial property sector, which may moderate over time.

Investors in commercial property funds should not make decisions in a panic. Granted the Brexit vote may have the potential to negatively affect the commercial property market in the short run, but long term investors should be willing to ride out periods of weakness, particularly when there has been such a sharp decline in fund prices without much evidence of a slowdown in the underlying property market.”, commented Laith Khalaf, Senior Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.