Neil Woodford

Neil Russell Woodford CBE (born March 1960) is a British fund manager and the founding partner of Woodford Investment Management.[1]

Neil Woodford

CBE
Born
Neil Russell Woodford

March 1960 (age 60)
NationalityBritish
EducationUniversity of Exeter
London Business School
OccupationFund manager
Known forFund Manager and founder of Woodford Investment Management

Early life

Woodford was born in March 1960.[2] He was brought up in Berkshire and attended Maidenhead Grammar School. His father was a printer.[3] He graduated in Economics and Agricultural Economics from the University of Exeter in 1981.[4]

Early career

Woodford began his career with the Reed Pension Fund and TSB.[3] In 1987 he became a fund manager with Eagle Star, then moved to Invesco Perpetual in 1988. He has also pursued postgraduate studies in Finance at the London Business School.[5]

Invesco Perpetual

Woodford ran the Invesco Perpetual Income, and Invesco Perpetual High Income funds, with respectively £10.36 billion[5] and £13.64 billion in assets.[6] Woodford was vocal over the 2012 proposed merger between British defence company BAE Systems and EADS, the European aerospace group, warning that unless there was a “substantial change” in BAE’s strategy, Invesco would have to consider “all options open to us”.[7]

Woodford gained a reputation as Britain’s best fund manager during his 25 years at Invesco, where he avoided the worst effects of the 1990s dot-com bubble and the 2008 financial crisis.[8][9] He regards himself as an active, long-term investor, holding shares for an average of about 15 years.[10]

In September 2013, Woodford criticised the Labour Party policy to cap domestic energy prices as shares in Centrica and SSE fell.[11]

Woodford Investment Management

In April 2014, Woodford left his role as head of UK equities at Invesco Perpetual to set up Woodford Investment Management LLP.[12][13] In April 2015, he launched Woodford Patient Capital Trust, a listed investment trust.[14] Woodford Investment Management launched a second Equity Income Fund in April 2017, LF Woodford Income Focus.[15] Woodford owned 29% of the ill-fated Utilitywise.[16]

In March 2019, after two years of poor performance during which fund assets contracted by more than £5 billion, the Sunday Times carried out an investigation into the fund. It found the fund held less than 20% of assets in FTSE 100 companies compared to over 50% when it was created, and over 20% of assets were in small Alternative Investment Market companies.[9][17] On 4 June 2019 trading in Woodford Investment Management’s largest fund (the Woodford Equity Income fund) was suspended. There had been large withdrawals of funds by many investors.[18] Following this, St. James's Place plc terminated Woodford's contract to manage three of its funds, valued at £3.5 billion.[19] The FCA has launched a formal investigation into the suspension. A Woodford spokesperson said: “We can confirm we have been contacted by the FCA, regarding its investigation relating to the events that led to the suspension … and will be co-operating fully with its investigation.”

On 15 October 2019 the fund board announced that Woodford's flagship fund, Woodford Equity Income Fund, was to be shut down and Woodford had been removed as investment manager.[20] The following day Woodford announced he would resign from his remaining investment funds and close his investment company in an orderly fashion.[21]

Personal life

Woodford's second marriage is with Madeline White; they have two children.[22][3] Woodford lives on a farm in Tetbury in the Cotswolds.[23] Woodford and his wife are keen horse riders and amateur showjumpers.[22]

Honours

In June 2013, in the 2013 Birthday Honours, Woodford was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the economy.[24] In July 2016, he was awarded an honorary fellowship by the London Business School.[25]

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References
  1. "Neil Woodford | Fund Manager Fact Sheet | St James's Place, Woodford Investment Management LLP, Old Mutual Global Investors". Citywire.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  2. "Woodford Investment Management LLP". Companies House. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  3. "NEIL WOODFORD PROFILE: How patience and long-termism turned the Berkshire boy into the UK's top fund manager". This is MONEY. 24 March 2017. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  4. Neate, Rupert (4 June 2019). "Neil Woodford: star fund manager mixes arrogance and humility". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  5. Invesco Perpetual Income Fund, Invesco Perpetual
  6. Invesco Perpetual High Income Fund, Invesco Perpetual
  7. Invesco voices concern over BAE tie-up Archived 10 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Financial Times, 8 October 2012
  8. Russell, Harriet (9 June 2019). "Neil Woodford: Britain's Buffett seemed to have a magic touch - but was it all an illusion?". Sunday Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  9. Meddings, Sabah (11 November 2018). "Neil Woodford forced into £1.4bn sell-off". Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  10. Patrick Collinson; Jill Treanor (12 October 2012). "Neil Woodford, Invesco Perpetual's kingmaker". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  11. Campbell, Peter (25 September 2013). "Fund guru Neil Woodford slams Labour's energy prices policy". This is MONEY. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  12. Jackson, Gary. "Neil Woodford unveils new venture | News". Fundweb.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  13. Lobo, Dylan (25 June 2014). "Woodford raises record £1.6 billion for new fund - Citywire Money". Citywire.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  14. "Buyers send Woodford's Patient Capital Trust to instant premium". The Telegraph. 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  15. "LF Woodward Income Focus". Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  16. Neate, Rupert (8 June 2019). "Bright star to black hole: the rise and fall of fund manager Neil Woodford". The Observer.
  17. Black, Holly (3 March 2019). "Revealed: the real risk of Woodford". Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  18. "Top stockpicker Neil Woodford suspends flagship fund". BBC News. 4 June 2019. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  19. Angela Monaghan; Kalyeena Makortoff (5 June 2019). "Neil Woodford dropped by major backer after suspending fund". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  20. "Neil Woodford's flagship fund to be shut down". BBC News. 15 October 2019. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  21. "Neil Woodford closes crisis-hit investment empire". BBC News. 16 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  22. Singh, Anita (17 September 2011). "Paxman in planning row over 'unsightly' equestrian centre". ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  23. Hughes, Janet (5 June 2019). "Gloucestershire financier Neil Woodford apologises to investors". gloucestershirelive. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  24. "No. 60534". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 2013. p. 9.
  25. "LBS honours Olivier Blanchard and Neil Woodford | London Business School". London.edu. 29 July 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
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