The newest finfluencer in town: Neil Woodford
Neil Woodford, the stock picker who saw his star fund collapse five years ago due to liquidity issues, has moved towards a new career path: Finfluencer.
The former Woodford Equity Income fund manager launched a new blog yesterday called Woodford Views, aiming to “shed some light” on what led to his firm’s collapse.
Last week, the Financial Conduct Authority took the first steps towards legal action against Woodford for a “defective understanding of responsibilities”, stating that he made “unreasonable and inappropriate investment decisions”.
Woodford’s lawyers, WilmerHale and BCLP, said they will be challenging the FCA’s findings.
On his blog, Woodford outlined his career path through coming to success at Invesco, where he managed £32bn in assets before starting his own firm, Woodford Investment Management, in 2014.
“My own journey has had highs and lows,” the ex-manager wrote.
Woodford became a celebrity for his stock picking, receiving frequent recommendations from direct investment platforms like Hargreaves Lansdown, but saw everything come crumbling down after his fund was forced to suspend in 2019 due to severe liquidity issues.
The manager became increasingly interested in esoteric and small companies, to the point where his fund held more of its stock in tiny AIM companies than the FTSE 100. When this was revealed, investors were unable to withdraw their money.
Investors who have had their money trapped in Woodford’s suspended fund have been taking legal action to get some cash back, with a scheme finally being proposed at the end of last year by the FCA.
Last month, the scheme was approved by the courts, and former fund investors received their first settlement payout of £186m.
After the fund’s collapse, Woodford withdrew from the public and has not made public appearances or given interviews.
“I am neither hero nor villain,” wrote Woodford on his blog. “I was never the financial saviour of Middle England, but then, neither do I think I was worthy of the onslaught that followed the failure of my business.”
“Regardless of who was responsible for what, the fact is investors were trapped in my fund and suffered permanent losses, and this will always weigh heavily on me,” he added.
Woodford has also repurposed the former Woodford Investment Management X account, and asked on it: “What if everything you know about the economy was only part of the story?”
Controversial figures in the financial industry often turn to commentary following a career upset, such as Stuart Kirk, the former HSBC global head of responsible investments who resigned after coming under pressure for a speech where he complained about ‘nut jobs’ who were worried about climate change.
“Who cares if Miami is six metres underwater in 100 years? Amsterdam has been six metres underwater for ages and that’s a really nice place,” said Kirk. He was quickly suspended.
Since then, he has become a columnist for the Financial Times.
Morning Wire has reached out to Woodford’s blog for comment.