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I read a Lex article about Icelandic banks and their lending habits. Barely understood a word. Twelve months later my savings were temporarily trapped in Icesave - fortunately I'd withdrawn a chunk to pay a credit card bill a couple of weeks earlier than planned. I still read Lex, and go back and re-read the articles that totally lose me as I have subsequently noticed that some stuff Lex writes about appears more widely on the first pages of business sections about 9 months later. And if things are utterly scandalous they make it to the front page of the tabloids about 6 months later.
Other than Lex I'll judge the FT writers (all bar one) on their inability to see the Brexit referendum result coming.
lex column dismisses woodford investors as "hobbyist". Talk about patronising/condescending and damned rude. Lex always has been full of it - i last followed their lunchtime discussion a few years ago. Constant sneering at companies e.g Ocado and revelling in people's misfortune
How can you know the "African gent" was unmoved? When he got home did he refer to you as the "European gent"?
Apparently the unspeakable entity in the woodpile can be translated as skeleton in the closet so that's OK. Phew!
Thankfully sold my Woodford Equity Income 2 weeks ago. Being acc units I got 115.. This still leaves my wife’s who took the income. These were not thro HL. However left me with HL Multi-Manager units of 3 types in my pension. Put the order In to sell these yesterday hope they get sold today. HL have got some answers? Maybe class action against their cronyism and directors selling HL stock last month. As far as patient goes going to ride market I see no choice. HL in big trouble toxic.
I held M&G property when that was suspended, so .....
But those funds never got the publicity that Woodford has and is going to continue to get.
Then you've got HL having sold down EIF while it was still in the Wealth 50 list.
Imo, sentiment alone is going to make this struggle for a good while.
That said, I might dip my toes in again here at a later date.
But it won't be yet.
Anyway, I'll leave it there.
GL
Which is why people are so much better off with a Chartered Financial Planner. We had a very sophisticated risk measurement tool and such a fund would have been beyond the pale for most people. Ironically of course when Woodford was still at Invesco he played by the book and very successfully. I think having his own outfit has gone to his head and he is very arrogant. I once went to an Invesco conference when one of the speakers, not Woodford, referred to the n..... in the woodpile. A bit startling, spanner in the works would have been better. An African gent sitting in front of me was unmoved however!
Bruce, agree entirely and was to some extent my point - the criticism is valid of the WEIF only - the WPCT IS an appropriate place for such investments and it is very clear in all the documentation - but since when did the average retail investor read all the risk warnings and take any notice ?
Likewise been around a long time and have sat on the Valuation Committee of two £10 billion plus hedge funds.
Perfectly ok to have unquoted in the investment trust because this was stated at the outset and a very sophisticated investment for the unitiated. The Equity Income unit trust a very different kettle of fish. It might have been ok to have a few investments but these unquoted funds entirely unsuitable for a retail fund whatever the M and A said. Having said this there seem to be some tyros around here treading on unknown territory.
I assume you have not seen this sort of thing before. It is not as uncommon as all that. There were numerous property funds suspended at one time where the properties were unsaleable. There will not be a rush for the exit in due course because there will be severe restrictions of the amount that can be redeemed. These types of investment are never completely devoid of risk. I have been on the scene over 50 years so I have seen it all before!
That is the nature of unlisted stocks - no liquidity and a forced seller may have to accept a significantly discounted price. That is the risk and the main valid criticism (in my view) of Woodford - i.e. you shouldn't have significant illiquid exposure in an open ended fund - particularly WEIF, where there are so many Retail Investors.
There are, however, many other very successful Open Ended Funds (see Woodford's co-investors in some of his biggest positions) that do exactly the same. (albeit they may have lower % exposure, for good reasons).
Having said the above - WPCT is not an open ended fund and do not have to sell to fund redemptions. There is a risk, however, that if Woodford has to sell an unquoted security at a substantial discount from the WEIF then WPCT might have to revalue the same securities (most unquoted stocks are valued at the most recent transaction price, where it is known). This would hit the WPCT NAV. However, I'm not sure this will happen here for two reasons: 1. there may well be demand for some of the companies where the funding rounds are often oversubscribed, 2. if Woodford devaules a position then all the other funds invested (who will know of the transaction) ought to devalue as well. They won't want to do this and as a result Woodford may well find there are willing takers for some of his positions at a reasonable price.
One last point - Woodford's demise is potentially very damaging for the Fund Management Industry as a whole in this country and it might be that he still has some friends (or those that have common interests) out there willing to step up and help him and limit the damage. Time will tell.
Love_you - The world spends more than a Trillion Dollars on prescription drugs EVERY year (and rising) and you don't think its an attractive sector to invest in ?? Woodford has some very interesting prospects in this portfolio - being supported by some of the biggest names in the Fund Management Industry not just Woodford. They won't all succeed, that is the nature of investing in early stage businesses, but those that do will sometimes return multiples of the investment. You don't need many winners...
I see it is now the most shorted listed investment trust - a risky strategy here if you ask me.
Er yes, I saw what you wrote???
Woodford has pledged to re-position the EIF and rid it of the non listed stocks.
And he isn't going to get the prices he wants, simple. Nor can he try his last stunt of selling to his other funds.
He might well have realised profits on a few, but they will not outweigh the others, imo.
And as soon as he re-opens the EIF, there will be a massive rush for the exit.
The fallout from all this is going to last ages and imo can only continue to drag this down.
As for being difficult to shift, I've made just two comments recently, so I don't know what that comment is about and I didn't realise it's your discussion board, apologies.
Whatever, good luck with your investment.
I think you're going to need it.
Did you see what I wrote. Same as you difficult to shift!
I really don't know, Bruce.
Woodford said it, not me.
Not that I disagree with you; they'll be hard to shift at a decent price.
"What use are biotech ..".....well the annual report might give you a clue.
The biggest selling drugs in the world are biological .. each making billions a year income/profits .. educate your self..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_selling_pharmaceutical_products
With a current NAV in the mid 80s this is a great recovery play
Numerous buys in 5 figures and sp steadied. M & G Recovery loves a stock like this. Is it bombed out? No idea. Am I worried? Not in the slightest.
What use are biotech companies to citizens. Answer cancer treatments
"so plenty of leeway to make money in time." So you must be hoping for an even bigger drop tomorrow to give you even more 'leeway' ??
Hi all,
What use are Woodford's biotech investments to 99% of UK citizens?
In my opinion most UK citizens can see the benefits of owning a house, cheap energy, cars, food (i.e. investing in UK farming and all types of crops), decent education and healthcare, and having enough free time to pursue their hobbies and interests.
Social things can be sorted out face-to-face. I don't think it's going to wash any longer that just because your central banker friends bailed you out that you can think you're the big man because you have the biggest wallet (anyone could have done that if they were told beforehand by 'those in the know' that the FED were going to make unprecedented interventions in markets that defied the economic rules/conventions going back to the 1920s).
If the government wants to be popular surely it must focus on getting the investment community to support UK farming, housebuilding, UK-based production/manufacturing, and UK-based leisure activity companies.
Best of luck to everyone here. However, my question to people here would be is - just what use are Woodford's biotech investments to most UK citizens?
Opinions
it appears that the SP needs to rise about 40% to get to its NAV so plenty of leeway to make money in time.
Forgot to add we will be buying more once the sellers are done.
We buy I.Ts that specialise in unquoted and this included Woodford, along with small companies and emerging countries. Plus anything that is well below NAV i.e. FFWD with a NAV of about 12p which you can buy for 6,75p
You do get a rocky ride, but buying low can bring really good rewards. Buy when low Sell when high is our moto. Been doing it for about 50 years. When the blood is running in the gutter fill your boots. The big crash in the 30s saw many make a fortune buying at rock bottom prices, they just had patience
Small companies prices grow quicker than FTSE 100 usually. You only have to look back over the last 18 months and see those top quoted stocks that have failed dismally. Being big is no certainty of avoiding big drops. You rarely get FTSE100 shares doubling in 12 months. LOOK FOR VALUE