Woodford investors have lost £1bn since fund was frozen
Investors in Woodford Equity Income fund have seen the total value of their assets slide more than a quarter – around £1bn – over the past year.
There is a £122m shortfall in the fund’s total value but administrator Link said this reflected the asset and currency movements during the period.
A Sunday Times investigation revealed investors have missed out on tens of millions of pounds because of the way Link has quickly sold assets as it winds down the fund.
Link has come under fire for its role in the Woodford scandal, which eventually saw the suspension of Neil Woodford’s flagship fund. Last month it oversaw the sale of 19 of the fund’s assets to Acacia Research in a £224m deal. However just days later the American firm sold off some of the assets and in one instance generated a profit of £750,000.
Drugmaker Synairgen last week saw its price jump after it announced results of a clinical trial showing a new way of treating coronavirus. Its share price surged to four times what Link had recently sold it for.
Last June the fund was suspended after becoming overwhelmed by investor withdrawal requests, leading to the investment industry’s biggest crisis in years. The suspension eventually led to Woodford shuttering the business in October.
Link Fund Solutions, which has been responsible for overseeing the suspension and liquidation of Woodford’s fund, announced in October it would sack Woodford, wind up the fund and help investors recover some of their losses.
Payouts started in January with £2.1bn being returned to investors with fees and costs of $43m also being paid out. Another payment of £143m was made in March.
Link was contacted for comment.