Woodford Concerns

talexuser

interbear wrote: »

I may stick to trackers !

Unfortunately a lot of investors will lose confidence because of this and may pull out of the market altogether. Many of those that see the sense in staying may well come to that same conclusion. Do your own research, read around about the fund and its contents, if not, stick to trackers.

AnotherJoe

Ive just spotted this in the Link announcement about the winding up of WEIF*.

Please be aware that the receipt of your proceeds from the winding up of the Fund will be deemed to be part disposals of your shares in the Fund for capital gains tax purposes and may, depending on your personal circumstances, give rise to a capital gains tax liability. If you are in any doubt as to the taxation consequences of this action you should seek professional advice.

Laugh? My socks are still drying on the radiator


* just in case someone reading in a few weeks time wonders if this is about WPCT

itwasntme001

All this is probably why many people prefer investing in property - tracks inflation better then stocks, can use leverage, get actual income, have more control in terms of what you buy (even trackers you cant control what you own as companies grow or go bust), is illiquid so much less likely to sell based on emotions, is a real asset that you can see and touch.

newatc

AnotherJoe wrote: »

I do think Woodford is an extreme outlier. He really seemed to have a penchant for picking big companies with catastrophic problems, or startups seemingly with somewhere from low to literally no, chance of being a breakout stock. Did any of his early stage biotech companies come good ?Maybe some did?
But there woudl be no harm in sticking with trackers, as long of course as you dont track a really niche index.
And yes, HL deserve equal opprobrium, if they could miss soemthing as obvious as Woodford, why trust their judgement on the rest of their Wealth [STRIKE]50[/STRIKE]49

We all have to take responsibility for our own investments but how anyone can consider taking financial advice (which I understand often ends up using their multi-manager funds) from HL is beyond me. I suppose in due course Woodford will disappear from HL history and Wealth 50 stats.

Prism

ZingPowZing wrote: »

All for individuals making their own decisions but those who purport to be experts bear responsibility for their recommendations.
HL listed Woodford's fund in their Wealth50 up to the day that investors were trapped.

I do think that the loss of revenue and lower share price from this poor recommendation by HL will mean things will take care of themself. HL's image is currently tarnished (at least a little), which will force them to think more carefully going forwards.

bowlhead99

Moe_The_Bartender wrote: »

And Woody's view on the winding up:

“This was Link’s decision and one I cannot accept, nor believe is in the long-term interests of LF Woodford Equity Income Fund investors.”

Speechless.

Some people will be speechless that Woodford thinks he should have been allowed to continue with the repositioning of the fund and the exit strategy for the unquoteds.

Others will be speechless that two third party groups with limited practical motivation to realise proceeds are going to come in and take over the firesale at this point.

Yes I know you and Joe will say, well a blind chimp couldn't do any worse hahaha... but I would have been interested to see how his repositioning fund would have navigated the next few months of Brexit shenanigans vs the BlackRock tracker it will now be.

Moe_The_Bartender wrote: »

And WPCT is down nearly 8 per cent today. Presumably because the unlisted stuff will finally have to be valued. I bet they can't give IH away.

Presumably because WEIF owns close to 10% of WPCT and will be a forced seller of it over the coming months.

FWIW, in the case of common unlisted holdings between the two vehicles - if unlisted stuff held by WEIF is sold at a clearly distressed price which represents less than could be achieved in a longer timescale, WPCT doesn't actually need to value its own holdings at such a price. It's possible that some investments would be exited at the same time, some kept and marked to the valuation, and others kept and marked at a higher valuation.

Once the majority of the listed stuff is exited and cash returned, may be interesting to see to what extent the people assisting in the sale of WEIF's unquoteds are able to wait for a better price rather than dump and return cash ASAP. Not thinking here of e.g. IH which WPCT Investors are perhaps currently valuing at practically nothing (reflected in the 50% discount to NAV for the trust as a whole) but perhaps other things that might have been getting to pre-IPO stage in future quarters.

[Deleted User]

Like so much financial advice, Hargreaves Lansdown recommended a product that played into their own interests.

Karatekid

I am down 5K atm. Absolutely gutted

itwasntme001

Did woodford invest his money into the fund? If he did i think the least he should do is forfeit his investment in a way to reimburse other investors, even though it probably wont make much difference.

Sailtheworld

talexuser wrote: »

Unfortunately a lot of investors will lose confidence because of this and may pull out of the market altogether. Many of those that see the sense in staying may well come to that same conclusion. Do your own research, read around about the fund and its contents, if not, stick to trackers.

I doubt it. The financial industry will be working to try and convince the punters they really can pick successful fund managers ahead of time. Not too difficult really given it's an industry driven by success bias and punters who have a history of suspending disbelief.

Woodford is an extreme case but give it a few weeks and people will be back to paying handsomely to invest in the next flavour of the month.