The return of Neil Woodfood caused concern in London's City finance district over the weekend. Alamy
The return of Neil Woodfood caused concern in London's City finance district over the weekend. Alamy
The return of Neil Woodfood caused concern in London's City finance district over the weekend. Alamy
The return of Neil Woodfood caused concern in London's City finance district over the weekend. Alamy

Pressure mounts to block tarnished fund manager Neil Woodford’s comeback bid


Alice Haine
  • English
  • Arabic

Pressure is building to bar tarnished British fund manager Neil Woodford from setting up a new investment firm after campaigners called for an investigation into the collapse of his previous venture.

Mr Woodford’s firm, UK-based Woodford Investment Management, collapsed in 2019 after its main fund froze leaving thousands of small savers unable to retrieve their deposits.

What I was responsible for was two years of underperformance.

The former star investor announced earlier this week that he would be chief investment officer of the newly formed Woodford Capital Management, which would be based in Jersey and in Buckinghamshire, England.

When unveiling the new venture Mr Woodford, 60, said he was “sorry” for what he did.

"What I was responsible for was two years of underperformance. I was the fund manager, the investment strategy was mine, I owned it and it delivered a period of underperformance,” Mr Woodford told the Sunday Telegraph.

However, both the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the Jersey Financial Services Commission expressed alarm at the possibility of Mr Woodford’s return to the sector.

Mark Steward, FCA director of enforcement and market oversight, said that the new business would need to apply for “appropriate permissions” before undertaking any regulated activity in the UK.

“There are reports that Mr Woodford’s future business proposal may operate out of Jersey. We are in contact with the JFSC and agreed with them that we will both share information on any application made in our respective jurisdictions (for both a fund or entity),” Mr Steward said.

Meanwhile, the JFSC said that it was “disappointed” to find the trading name WCM Partners reserved in the Jersey Registry before the regulator received or processed an application from the company for authorisation to conduct activity as an investment firm.

"It would be normal practice when making such an announcement to make it clear that it is ‘subject to regulatory approval’,” the JFSC said.

The re-emergence of Mr Woodford caused immediate concern in London's financial district.

Woodford Investment Management, once the darling of the fund management industry with billions of pounds in assets under management, collapsed in 2019 having taken on too much risk, leaving pension funds, retail investors and other fund managers with large losses.

Worth a reported £10.2 billion ($14.2bn) in May 2017, the fund struggled to plug holes when investors pulled out about £10m a day. By the time it was suspended, it was worth just £3.7bn.

In response to Mr Woodford’s proposed new venture, activist investment group the True and Fair Campaign – which promotes greater transparency in the finance sector – called for an independent investigation into the “Woodford scandal”.

The initiative, founded by Brexit campaigner Gina Miller, who runs her own investment firm called SCM Direct, and her husband Alan, raised alarm over Mr Woodford returning to the financial sector just 20 months after the “spectacular collapse”.

"It is high time there was an independent investigation into the Woodford scandal," the campaign wrote in a letter to the UK Parliament's Treasury Select Committee.

"We believe it ought to be a very serious source of public policy concern that high profile individuals such as Mr Woodford can be allowed to recommence trading when over 300,000 people ... are scrabbling to make ends meet after seeing their life savings decimated."

The FCA said that it was investigating the circumstances behind the suspension of Mr Woodford's flagship LF Woodford Equity Income Fund, but that it had encountered difficulties in accessing documents and witnesses during the pandemic.

“I recognise the time taken to investigate causes of frustration among those affected by a firm or fund failure and who are, understandably, looking for answers. They rightly look to us to provide those answers,” Mr Steward said.

“As a result, it is vital we investigate thoroughly and investigations are not limited at their outset. Instead, we look at what all the evidence tells us before we make conclusions about what, if any, misconduct has taken place and who is responsible, if it has. It is only then that we can assess what, if any, sanction we should put in place.”

However, the True and Fair Campaign criticised the FCA investigation for failing “to consider the role of Hargreaves, the major investment platform that was a major promoter of the Woodford funds, or to assess the FCA’s own conduct in the affair”.

Mr Woodford’s new approach will see WCM Partners advise Acacia Research on a portfolio of life science stocks previously owned by Woodford Investment Management and sold to Acacia in June 2020 as part of the liquidation of the firm’s main fund.

WCM said that the assets would "form the cornerstone" of a new biotech-focused strategy to rebuild the Woodford investment operation with plans to open it up to other institutional investors, rather than retail investors.

Ryan Hughes, head of active portfolios at stockbroker AJ Bell, said that Mr Woodford’s potential comeback is "a surprise to many, especially those thousands of embattled investors who are still waiting to get the last of their money back”.

Mr Woodford enjoyed a 30-year career in asset management as a stockpicker before setting up Woodford Investment Management in 2014.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The biog

Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology

Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels

Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs

Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends

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Analysis

Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more

2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier

Event info: The tournament in Kuwait is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.

Teams: UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Maldives, Qatar

Friday fixtures: 9.30am (UAE time) - Kuwait v Maldives, Qatar v UAE; 3pm - Saudi Arabia v Bahrain

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

Analysis

Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.

The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement. 

We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment. 

 

SPECS
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If you go

Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.

Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com

A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com