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The chief executive of Janus Henderson has criticized the US hedge fund’s bid to take over seven UK investment trusts as “too aggressive”.

Ali Dibadj, who heads the $382bn asset manager, said Boaz Weinstein’s Saba Capital swooped in to try to run the trusts to “take advantage of management fees”.

Saba Capital has took stake in seven trusts – both of which are managed by Janus Henderson – and are seeking shareholder agreement to overhaul their boards and install their own candidates.

“If you haven’t seen what’s happening in the UK investment trust world right now please watch out for your clients,” Dibadj told professional investors at Janus Henderson’s UK Investment conference in London on Wednesday.

“You have a frivolous little, very aggressive . . . The hedge fund (that) came in and decided to bet on you and your clients not voting, to get those funds, to take advantage of the management fee.

“They bet on satisfaction. Please, please don’t be complacent, don’t let them take over.” He added that the entire £266bn UK investment trust sector was, in fact, “under attack”.

Saba Capital said: “All these trusts have board members who are part of this ecosystem . . . getting paid from pensioners for what? They have to work for you, the shareholders, and they themselves sit on other trusts that sell at similar discounts.

“We are here to restore this broken set of trust and . . . a broken industry that has yet to grow.”

Saba added that it is one of the largest backers of investment trusts and similar products in the world, with $6.6bn invested.

Dibadj’s comments come as Saba’s campaign is facing backlash. The trusts, which are also managed by Baillie Gifford, Herald Investment Management and Manulife, have raised concerns about Saba’s plan to put its own candidates on the boards.

ShareSoc, the industry body for individual investors, also said on Wednesday that it “strongly opposes” Saba’s proposals. Mark Northway, director of ShareSoc, said that the activist plans “consider the lack of independent management and an incest and self-interested distribution of investment mandates in trusts.”

Saba points to the performance of the seven trusts and the fact that their share prices have lagged behind the value of their assets.

The trusts it targets are: Baillie Gifford US Growth, CQS Natural Resources Growth & Income, Edinburgh Worldwide Investment, European Smaller Companies, Henderson Opportunities, Herald Investment and Keystone Positive Change. The hedge fund’s stakes range from 19 to 29 per cent in each of the trusts and add up to a total of £1.5bn.

The UK investment trust industry is under pressure from higher interest rates, regulation and a focus on fees, prompting some investors to exit.

Alan Brierley, an analyst at Investec, said that “it is time to man the barricades against a serious and opportunistic attack, but also for some self-reflection in the industry”.