LONDON (Alliance News) - Fund manager Neil Woodford said Monday he will no longer allow investors to see the complete holdings of his three flagship funds.
Woodford Investment manages three funds: LF Woodford Income Focus Fund, LF Woodford Equity Income Fund and London-listed Woodford Patient Capital Trust.
Woodford on Monday last week suspended fund redemptions from his flagship equity income fund - the LF Woodford Equity Income Fund - as the fund's underperformance resulted in significant outflow of investors.
LF Woodford Equity Income Fund said the suspension was due to "an increased level of redemptions", with the fund now needing time to "reposition" its portfolio invested in unquoted and less liquid stocks into more liquid investments.
Whilst redemption remain frozen, Woodford will no longer be publishing a full list of his fund's holdings.
On the company's website, Woodford said: "During the period of the LF Woodford Equity Income Fund's suspension and subsequent repositioning of its portfolio, Woodford will only be showing the top 10 holdings of the three funds on our website. We firmly believe this is in the best interests of investors."
According to the Financial Times, Woodford set up his funds five years ago with a "promise to be as open with customers as possible".
Over that time, Woodford has published a complete list of holdings in his three main funds every month, an unusual move in the industry.
Funds must disclose their full portfolio twice a year but they can often be difficult to decipher and there is no rule stipulating the information must be published online.
Over the past week, Woodford Investment Management has conducted a fire sale of its stakes in 20 London-listed companies - raising in excess of GBP500 million - after taking the decision to suspend withdrawals from his equity income fund.
Neil Woodford appeared in a video suggesting his firm faced having to hold a fire sale in order to meet the demand for redemptions from his flagship Woodford Equity Income Fund, which was reported to have hit GBP10 million a day. The stock market guru insisted that his firm, Woodford Investment Management, has a strategy in place to stabilise the fund so holders would eventually be able to access their investments.
The suspension has not affected the London-listed Woodford Patient Capital Trust.
On Monday, a statement on the Woodford site read: "As a closed-ended investment trust, Woodford Patient Capital Trust can continue to be bought and sold on the London Stock Exchange as normal. Its share price, which reflects the balance of supply and demand from investors, came under immediate pressure when the suspension of investor trading in the LF Woodford Equity Income Fund was announced, causing the discount between the trust's share price and its net asset value to widen."
The statement said the trust's NAV per share should "not be significantly impacted by the suspension", however. Woodford believes the high proportion of unquoted assets in the portfolio are "considerably less volatile" as they are "not subject to the swings in sentiment that affect quoted assets".
Woodford also noted the "low level of overlap" between the equity income fund and the listed fund.
Earlier on Monday, Woodford Patient Capital Trust Chair Susan Searle said: "The board is closely monitoring the situation and is engaging with its shareholders and advisers. Separately, the board is in regular dialogue with the portfolio manager. The board wishes to emphasise the long-term approach of the company and will continue to keep shareholders updated as necessary."
The suspension of fund withdrawals at Woodford equity fund led to a sharp drop in Woodford Patient Capital Trust's share price, which is down 23% since the news broke last Monday.
Woodford Patient Capital Trust was trading at 58.80 pence Monday afternoon.
