Investors in the former Woodford Equity Income fund today got a letter saying they will receive a further £183m owing to the downfall of star fund manager Neil Woodford’s fund last month.
Laura Suter, personal finance analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, said: “Investors in the shuttered Woodford Equity Income fund will get their next tranche of money before the end of this month. Link has revealed that it will pay out just over £183m of cash to investors next week, following the sale of a number of assets.
This payout adds to the £142m distribution made in March and the £2.1bn paid out in January and means investors have received about £2.4bn of their money back.
“However, there’s no sign of Link and the asset managers shifting the remaining illiquid assets in the fund. There’s no mention of a timeline or any progress having been made on the sale of the assets, with Link just saying the sale ‘may take some time’. This means the process will drag on for even longer for investors, who just want to get as much of their money back as possible and move on from the sorry saga.
“It’s also frustrating that investors will have to wait even longer for the fund’s report and accounts for the year ending March 2020, with Link delaying their publication again from the end of this month to the end of September.
“This is another blow to investors who haven’t had access to a proper report and financial statements for the fund since the interim report for the six months ending 30 June 2019, well over a year ago. When they finally arrive the accounts will provide a bit more clarity to investors on the sale process and costs involved, but will now be over six months out of date by the time they are published.”
Leave a Comment