Neil Woodford Announces New Investment Firm

After a forced liquidation in 2019, Neil Woodford is back. The former “Oracle of Oxford” announced his new business venture, WCM Partners, after a public apology for what transpired in his last business. The new venture will be based in Jersey and Buckinghamshire.

The Guardian reports that a recent Sunday Telegraph interview included an apology for losses at the Woodford Equity Income Fund. The fund was disrupted by a short-selling attack against legal funder Burford Capital, leading to a massive drop in Burford share price that led to an eventual liquidation of Woodford’s fund. In the interview, Woodford asserted that investor capital could have been recovered had the firm not been forced into liquidation. In addition to Burford Capital, Woodford’s previous investments included Purplebricks and Provident Financial. Prior to the liquidation, Woodford was criticized for investing in small, private companies that were difficult to sell.

It’s noteworthy that an investigation into Woodford’s last venture by the Financial Conduct Authority has not been published. One might think that a prerequisite before regaining investor confidence—especially since some of Woodford’s previous investors have yet to receive the last of their money back, and many others suffered steep losses. Woodford did claim responsibility for the underperformance of his investment strategies, and said he was “very sorry.”

Woodford’s comments are unlikely to elicit any sympathy, since he earned millions in dividends just before the firm collapsed. He claimed he’s been forced to sell one of his homes, worth about GBP 30 million.

Woodford states that his last failed venture shouldn’t be the epitaph of his illustrious career, even as he understands that investors may be understandably reluctant to trust him in the future.