Latest news with #NeilWoodford
Irish Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Neil Woodford: the resurrection no one asked for
Whether former fund manager Neil Woodford deserves forgiveness is a matter for theology. Whether he deserves your money is a more earthly concern. Six years after the collapse of his £10 billion (€11.7 billion) flagship fund, Woodford has launched W4.0, a venture allowing investors follow model portfolios he's designed and implement the trades via their own brokers. It's pitched as a modern alternative to traditional funds, 'not bound by the constraints of fund launches or minimum sizes' – a freedom Woodford once exercised with such flair it helped sink a £10 billion fund. READ MORE It's essentially a form of copy trading. Woodford's selling point is his long-term mindset and contrarian eye. But the pitch, as ever, is personal: follow me. That may tempt those who remember Woodford's early glory years at Invesco, where he prospered as a value investor, more than his disastrous 2019 implosion. Yet his downfall wasn't about poor returns – it was overconfidence, opacity and a disastrous misjudgement of liquidity risk. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) derided Woodford's 'defective understanding' of his responsibilities. W4.0 may well attract a curious crowd, especially at the right price. But the star manager era has moved on. And so, perhaps, should its stars.
Business Mayor
27-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
JEFF PRESTRIDGE: Watchdog's shameful silence over Woodford comeback
Disgraced former fund manager Neil Woodford is currently running rings round the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. More than a year has passed since the FCA issued a warning notice against Woodford for failing to manage effectively the liquidity risks associated with his £3.7billion investment fund Woodford Equity Income (WEI) in the run-up to its suspension in June 2019. The fund's subsequent break-up crystallised losses for tens of thousands of investors. Since then, while the FCA has remained schtum, Woodford has gone on the offensive. He has launched the Woodford Views website, opining on a mix of economics and markets; been interviewed by a couple of investment experts (the latest, conducted by Simon Brewer for The Money Maze Podcast, is actually worth a listen); and announced the launch of a subscription-based service designed to help investors. This investment service, labelled W4.0, has already attracted interest, and three strategies have initially been marketed, which are designed to help subscribers: Generate a mix of dividend income and investment growth – exactly the kind of return that WEI was set up to deliver but failed to do so; Obtain high growth – a la Woodford Patient Capital, an investment trust now run by Schroders and in the process of wind up (with a share price a tenth that of its £1 launch price in April 2015); and Get a juicy income – 7 per cent plus – which normally only scammers promise. Back for good? Disgraced Neil Woodford's fund collapsed in 2019 Am I being too cynical? Maybe (apologies if I offend). What is fact is that 500 enthusiasts have signed up as 'founding partners' – and more are waiting in the wings, keen to benefit from Woodford's investment 'nous'. How this service goes down with the FCA we will probably never know – as far as the regulator is concerned, silence is golden when it comes to Woodford. Indeed, it took until last Thursday for the FCA to even clock its planned enforcement action against Woodford's name on its register which companies and consumers use to check the details of regulated entities. Maybe the FCA will surprise us by finally holding Woodford to account for his disastrous management of WEI. But even accepting the right of Woodford to challenge any action it wants to take against him, we shouldn't be nearly six years down the road with no finishing post on the horizon. To use footballing parlance, Woodford 4, FCA 0. Fund managers Ian Lance and Nick Purves have done a brilliant job resurrecting the fortunes of investment trust Temple Bar. Since being appointed to run the fund from the end of October 2020, they have transformed it from one heading towards oblivion into an £800 million all-conquering UK equity income trust. In terms of performance, not one of its rivals has come anywhere near it, in the process generating returns of about 140 per cent. Whether the pair, who work for investment house Redwheel, can continue generating such stellar returns for shareholders remains to be seen – the stock market, as Scottish Mortgage investors found out during 2022, has a habit of biting back at some stage. Yet their investment approach, built around buying unloved UK companies in the expectation (not guarantee) of a turnaround at some stage, makes great sense. Especially at a time when growth investing – built around the Magnificent Seven 'tech' stocks – is threatened by a mix of tariffs imposed by President Trump, a fragile global economy and the cost of the rush towards the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (an AI version of Jeff Prestridge cannot be ruled out). Read More Sudden Return of the Trump Trade Sends Treasurys Reeling Impressive as Lance and Purves have been at Temple Bar, it's the words that Lance penned for the trust's latest newsletter that I find even more compelling – and which investors should heed. He says that when stock markets are as volatile as they are now, human instinct drives many investors to go into protection mode and 'run for cover' until things calm down. But he says that bailing out of the market usually results in lower returns than if you keep your nerve. He adds: 'Volatility can be unsettling but is part and parcel of investing in equity markets – and it is the reason why we believe the asset class delivers premium returns over time.' As for their particular investment style, investing in sound businesses at a big discount to their economic worth, Lance says it has 'stood the test of time' – including the bursting of the technology stock market bubble in 2000, the 2008 financial crisis and more recently the 2020 pandemic. In a nutshell, dear investing readers, stay the course. And as I always preach, don't put all your equity eggs in one basket – diversify. Although we are promised a bright new dawn for our railways with the launch (at some indeterminate time in the future) of Great British Railways, it doesn't protect passengers from the network's current creaking infrastructure. On Easter Monday I was one of tens of thousands of commuters caught up in the chaos at London's Paddington Station triggered by a points failure just outside Reading. Commuters travelling into the station from the West Country were also badly affected, with services cancelled or terminating at Reading. It took me more than four hours to get home, as opposed to the normal one hour – and I only managed to do so by cycling to Waterloo to catch an alternative service. Even then it took me two attempts to get home, as a trespasser on the line just outside Clapham Junction caused the first train I got on to be taken out of service, forcing me to go back to London and wait until the offending person was dealt with. Nightmare upon nightmare. While Network Rail, whose responsibilities Great British Railways will eventually take over, cannot be blamed for trespassers on the tracks, it has patently failed in ensuring the country's rail network remains fit for purpose. While I accept that Paddington is an extremely busy station, points failures on the tracks that snake out of it are a regular occurrence for commuters. It's an infrastructure Achilles heel which Network Rail should have addressed long, long ago. On Monday I counted myself lucky because I managed to get home – many others travelling further afield were left stranded. I also got a refund of £20.10 from train operator Great Western Railways, although it didn't compensate me for the three hours of my life lost as a result of Rail Network's failure to do its job properly. Maybe Great British Railways will transform our railways when it finally chugs out of the sidings late next year or in 2027, but I wouldn't bank on it. Delays are embedded into our rail network's DNA.
Daily Mail
26-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
JEFF PRESTRIDGE: Watchdog's shameful silence over Woodford comeback
Disgraced former fund manager Neil Woodford is currently running rings round the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. More than a year has passed since the FCA issued a warning notice against Woodford for failing to manage effectively the liquidity risks associated with his £3.7billion investment fund Woodford Equity Income (WEI) in the run-up to its suspension in June 2019. The fund's subsequent break-up crystallised losses for tens of thousands of investors. Since then, while the FCA has remained schtum, Woodford has gone on the offensive. He has launched the Woodford Views website, opining on a mix of economics and markets; been interviewed by a couple of investment experts (the latest, conducted by Simon Brewer for The Money Maze Podcast, is actually worth a listen); and announced the launch of a subscription-based service designed to help investors. This investment service, labelled W4.0, has already attracted interest, and three strategies have initially been marketed, which are designed to help subscribers: Generate a mix of dividend income and investment growth – exactly the kind of return that WEI was set up to deliver but failed to do so; Obtain high growth – a la Woodford Patient Capital, an investment trust now run by Schroders and in the process of wind up (with a share price a tenth that of its £1 launch price in April 2015); and Get a juicy income – 7 per cent plus – which normally only scammers promise. Am I being too cynical? Maybe (apologies if I offend). What is fact is that 500 enthusiasts have signed up as 'founding partners' – and more are waiting in the wings, keen to benefit from Woodford's investment 'nous'. How this service goes down with the FCA we will probably never know – as far as the regulator is concerned, silence is golden when it comes to Woodford. Indeed, it took until last Thursday for the FCA to even clock its planned enforcement action against Woodford's name on its register which companies and consumers use to check the details of regulated entities. Maybe the FCA will surprise us by finally holding Woodford to account for his disastrous management of WEI. But even accepting the right of Woodford to challenge any action it wants to take against him, we shouldn't be nearly six years down the road with no finishing post on the horizon. To use footballing parlance, Woodford 4, FCA 0. Temple Bar success driven by tried and trusted plan Fund managers Ian Lance and Nick Purves have done a brilliant job resurrecting the fortunes of investment trust Temple Bar. Since being appointed to run the fund from the end of October 2020, they have transformed it from one heading towards oblivion into an £800 million all-conquering UK equity income trust. In terms of performance, not one of its rivals has come anywhere near it, in the process generating returns of about 140 per cent. Whether the pair, who work for investment house Redwheel, can continue generating such stellar returns for shareholders remains to be seen – the stock market, as Scottish Mortgage investors found out during 2022, has a habit of biting back at some stage. Yet their investment approach, built around buying unloved UK companies in the expectation (not guarantee) of a turnaround at some stage, makes great sense. Especially at a time when growth investing – built around the Magnificent Seven 'tech' stocks – is threatened by a mix of tariffs imposed by President Trump, a fragile global economy and the cost of the rush towards the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (an AI version of Jeff Prestridge cannot be ruled out). Impressive as Lance and Purves have been at Temple Bar, it's the words that Lance penned for the trust's latest newsletter that I find even more compelling – and which investors should heed. He says that when stock markets are as volatile as they are now, human instinct drives many investors to go into protection mode and 'run for cover' until things calm down. But he says that bailing out of the market usually results in lower returns than if you keep your nerve. He adds: 'Volatility can be unsettling but is part and parcel of investing in equity markets – and it is the reason why we believe the asset class delivers premium returns over time.' As for their particular investment style, investing in sound businesses at a big discount to their economic worth, Lance says it has 'stood the test of time' – including the bursting of the technology stock market bubble in 2000, the 2008 financial crisis and more recently the 2020 pandemic. In a nutshell, dear investing readers, stay the course. And as I always preach, don't put all your equity eggs in one basket – diversify. Don't hope for better - delay is in UK rail's DNA Although we are promised a bright new dawn for our railways with the launch (at some indeterminate time in the future) of Great British Railways, it doesn't protect passengers from the network's current creaking infrastructure. On Easter Monday I was one of tens of thousands of commuters caught up in the chaos at London's Paddington Station triggered by a points failure just outside Reading. Commuters travelling into the station from the West Country were also badly affected, with services cancelled or terminating at Reading. It took me more than four hours to get home, as opposed to the normal one hour – and I only managed to do so by cycling to Waterloo to catch an alternative service. Even then it took me two attempts to get home, as a trespasser on the line just outside Clapham Junction caused the first train I got on to be taken out of service, forcing me to go back to London and wait until the offending person was dealt with. Nightmare upon nightmare. While Network Rail, whose responsibilities Great British Railways will eventually take over, cannot be blamed for trespassers on the tracks, it has patently failed in ensuring the country's rail network remains fit for purpose. While I accept that Paddington is an extremely busy station, points failures on the tracks that snake out of it are a regular occurrence for commuters. It's an infrastructure Achilles heel which Network Rail should have addressed long, long ago. On Monday I counted myself lucky because I managed to get home – many others travelling further afield were left stranded. I also got a refund of £20.10 from train operator Great Western Railways, although it didn't compensate me for the three hours of my life lost as a result of Rail Network's failure to do its job properly. Maybe Great British Railways will transform our railways when it finally chugs out of the sidings late next year or in 2027, but I wouldn't bank on it. Delays are embedded into our rail network's DNA.
Telegraph
15-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Neil Woodford makes comeback with service for ‘thoughtful' investors
Neil Woodford is plotting a fresh comeback six years after the collapse of his investment fund, announcing plans to launch a stock advice app for 'thoughtful' investors. The former fund manager said his new W4.0 app will give paid members access to 'followable investment strategies, designed by Neil Woodford' and inspired by his 'long-term approach'. 'W4.0 is like having Neil Woodford by your side,' a post on his Woodford Views blog said. 'At its heart, W4.0 is a community platform – a place for investors who believe in research-led, long-term investing.' The app marks Mr Woodford's return to the world of investing for the first time since the implosion of his eponymous Woodford Equity Income Fund in June 2019. The fund's collapse led to 300,000 investors losing hundreds of millions of pounds. Mr Woodford told The Telegraph in 2021 he was 'very sorry for what I did wrong' but insisted he was guilty only of poor performance and blamed the fund's administrators for the collapse. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) later ruled that Mr Woodford had a 'defective and unreasonably narrow' understanding of his job, while announcing plans to take enforcement action against him. Mr Woodford has blamed the collapse of his fund on 'things beyond our control at Woodford, such as the economic and political landscape ... in the wake of the Brexit vote'. He has said he was not 'worthy of the onslaught' that followed the collapse of his fund and insisted he was not 'a villain'. In a post on his blog on Monday, Mr Woodford said: 'The rise of online platforms and copy trading shows that many people want to take an active role in building their portfolios. But while some of that has veered towards speculation and volatility – what I'd call gambling, not investing – there's also a growing demand for something more thoughtful. A way to construct portfolios for long-term goals, not short-term thrills. That's the gap I believe W4.0 can fill.' W4.0 will not be a trading platform but will instead give users the 'freedom' to replicate long-term investment strategies designed by Mr Woodford by placing trades through their 'existing broker or investment platform,' the blog post said. The app's users will have access to 'updates and commentary' from Mr Woodford in the form of videos, live sessions and discussion groups, through which he will offer his views on the best ways to build an investment portfolio. A previous attempt to relaunch his career in 2021 through the launch of a new company, called WCM Partners, was abandoned after the FCA contacted authorities in Jersey where Mr Woodford hoped to launch the venture. Prior to the collapse of the Woodford Equity Income Fund, Mr Woodford had built a reputation as a star stock picker in the early 2000s. He worked at asset manager Perpetual, which was later acquired by Invesco, before he launched his own fund in 2014. The Woodford Equity Income Fund controlled more than £10bn worth of assets at its peak but was frozen in response to a series of high-value withdrawals that saw over £500m pulled out in just four weeks. The rush for the exit following a period of poor performance ultimately led to the fund's winding up.
The Guardian
14-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Neil Woodford to launch subscription-based investment service
The former fund manager Neil Woodford has said he will launch a subscription-based investment service to retail investors, just six years after his fund collapsed. Woodford will launch a 'community platform' called W4.0, where investors will be able to download and enact his strategies via their own accounts. Announcing the new service, Woodford wrote on his blog: 'Because we're not bound by the constraints of fund launches or minimum sizes, I can share more strategies, more ideas, and more updates than would ever be possible in a traditional fund structure.' 'W4.0 is like having Neil Woodford by your side,' said marketing materials. The former manager's flagship fund, Woodford Equity Income Fund (WEIF), was suspended in 2019 after it was unable to satisfy withdrawal requests from investors due to its high exposure to illiquid and unquoted shares. About 300,000 people who had been invested in the fund were left out of pocket. Last year the Financial Conduct Authority issued a warning notice against Woodford, saying he held 'a defective and unreasonably narrow understanding of his responsibilities for managing the WEIF's liquidity risks'. The regulator also claimed he had failed to ensure the company had appropriate liquidity when making investment decisions. At the time, lawyers representing Woodford rejected the findings. Woodford has marketed three strategies on his W4.0 service: an 'all-rounder' combination of income and growth, an 'unstoppable trends' theme focused on high-growth areas and an 'income booster' strategy designed to deliver a yield of more than 7%. Subscribers will be able to follow the strategies, tailor the positions, download a ready-to-use trade file and use it to place trades with their broker or investment platform. While subscription prices for access to the service were not disclosed, the first 500 'founding members' will lock in the 'lowest subscription price' that the platform will offer, according to the website. Woodford's flagship fund was worth more than £10bn at its peak value, but it was hit by a series of bad bets including on the estate agent Purplebricks, the finance firm Burford Capital and the doorstep lender Provident Financial. Poor performance, combined with liquidity issues, led to the fund's suspension and eventual collapse. The administrator wound down the fund and has since returned money to many investors at a steep loss. Woodford said in a statement that W4.0 was about giving investors 'more control in a way that fits how people want to invest today'. 'I see it as a natural evolution – a way to combine professional strategy with personal choice. It's about improving what's available to thoughtful, long-term investors who want to be more involved in their decisions,' he said.
