Neil Woodford & Co. fined failures about £ 46M

Former star fund manager Neil Woodford and his investment firm have been fined a total of £ 46M by Financial Watchdog.

Some 300,000 people lost when Woodford Equity Income Fund collapsed in 2019, when investors tried to withdraw money faster than paying funds.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has estimated Mr. Woodford approximately £ 6M and banned him from managing funds for senior manager roles and non-professional investors. It has fined his funds, Woodford Investment Management (WIM), £ 40M.

Mr. Woodford and Vim are appealing against decisions, so all the FCA conclusions are provisional.

Once a high-up city fund manager, Mr. Woodford, was described as a person who made Central England Rich and replied to the Britain’s Warren Buffet.

He made his name in 2013 before going to the establishment of his company in 2013 before the fund management veteran.

He was close to a domestic name in the investment world and people piled into its lead UK Equity Income Fund. At its peak, it had the money of £ 10bn people.

Woodford Equity Income Fund was managed by Mr. Woodford and WIM, but was suspended in June 2019, meaning that investors, most of whom were ordinary retail investors, were unable to catch their money.

The fund had fallen from high to 10.1bn to a price from high in May 2017, which had increased to £ 3.6bn in its suspension.

The FCA stated that Vim and Mr. Woodford made “unfair and unfair investment decisions” between July 2018 and June 2019.

Watchdog said he had sold liquid investment, which was easy to sell, and bought those who were difficult to sell.

As a result, at the time when the company was suspended, only 8% investment could be sold within seven days – investors should have been able to receive their money within four days.

According to FCA, WIM and Mr. Woodford “did not react properly with the decline in the funds, its liquidity deteriorated and more investors withdrew their money”.

“These disadvantaged investors who remained in the fund, compared to those who suspended the fund.”

Steve Smart, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Overs in FCA, said: “As a leader in financial services, the profile also comes with responsibilities. Mr. Woodford does not just accept that he had a role in managing the liquidity of the fund.

“Very minimalist investors should expect that they manage their money intelligent decisions and take their senior role seriously.

“Neither Neel Woodford nor Woodford Investment Management did this, put risking people with whom people assigned to him.”