As investor confidence crumbles following fund suspension, Neil Woodford faces backlash on fees
Critics are piling in on Neil Woodford after he suspended his main fund in a desperate attempt to halt redemptions, with management fees emerging as a lightning rod.
Citing reports that the Woodford Equity Income Fund is still taking in £100,000 in fees a day, MP Nicky Morgan — chair of the treasury committee — called on Woodford to waive the fees while he shifts his portfolio further away from private companies. The strategy, Woodford had said, is to reduce the fund’s exposure to illiquid and unquoted securities down to zero.
“The suspension of trading has provided Mr. Woodford with some breathing room to fix his fund; he should afford his investors the same space and waive the fund’s fees while the fund is suspended,” she said in a statement.
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