LONDON (Alliance News) - Neil Woodford has suspended withdrawals from his equity income fund as the fund's underperformance resulted in significant outflow of investors.
In a statement on Monday, LF Woodford Equity Income Fund said: "Following an increased level of redemptions, this period of suspension is intended to protect the investors in the fund by allowing Woodford, as previously communicated to investors, time to reposition the element of the fund's portfolio invested in unquoted and less liquid stocks, in to more liquid investments."
"During the period that share dealing is suspended no requests to redeem, purchase or transfer shares in the Funds will be accepted. When LFS elects to resume dealing in the shares of the Fund, we will write to all investors informing them of this fact. We will keep all investors appropriately informed about the suspension, including its likely duration," the equity fund added.
The equity fund is managed by Woodford Investment Management Ltd, which also manages UK listed Woodford Patient Capital Trust PLC. Trading in Woodford Patient Capital Trust remains unaffected by the suspension.
According to the Financial Times, the suspension in fund redemptions followed a steady stream of investor outflows and was sparked by Kent County Council seeking the return of around GBP250 million. The investor exodus has resulted in the fund shrinking to GBP3.7 billion from GBP10.2 billion in May 2017, the newspaper reported.
https://www.ft.com/content/75a748c2-8616-11e9-a028-86cea8523dc2
