Former City darling Neil Woodford has been questioned by investigators looking into the collapse of his investment fund, the financial watchdog has revealed.
The inquiry by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with sanctions and legal action not being ruled out.
In a letter to MPs, the regulator’s chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, said officials had spoken to 14 witnesses and all key interviews were complete.
New venture?
FCA confirmed Woodford Investment Management – Mr Woodford’s firm – does not hold a licence to sell investments to the public, following reports the fund manager is considering a new venture.
Mr Rathi said it was too early to say whether further action would be taken against the fund or its bosses.
In his letter to the Treasury Select Committee, he wrote: “Like all investigations, further analysis and legal advice may well give rise to additional lines of inquiry and some witnesses may need to be re-interviewed.
“Subject to that, as well as an opinion from expert witnesses, we are confident the investigation work will be completed by the end of the year.”
Funds now being sold off
Mr Woodford was once hailed as the greatest stock-picker of his generation. His funds were closed to new investment in 2019 and have slowly started to be sold off to ensure investors get some of their money back.
They include the flagship Woodford Equity Income Fund, which was valued at around £3 billion before it was closed.
It ran into cash flow problems after deciding to put large portions of investors’ money into non-listed companies.
This meant that, when customers demanded their money, it was difficult to raise the cash fast enough.
