Disgraced fund manager Neil Woodford has said he is “not a villain” as he reinvents himself as a financial influencer.
In a new blog launched on Wednesday, Mr Woodford says he was “never the financial saviour of Middle England” and claims that he was not “worthy of the onslaught that followed the failure of (his) business”.
Mr Woodford, 64, was at the helm of his flagship £3.7bn Woodford Equity Investment Fund (WEIF), when it collapsed in 2019, leaving more than 300,000 investors out of pocket.
It comes just days after the city watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority announced plans to take enforcement action against Mr Woodford, saying that he had a “defective” understanding of his role.
He and his firm, Woodford Investment Management, were accused of not properly managing the fund’s liquidity, meaning it could not pay out to investors when they asked for their money back.
The regulator also said that Link Fund Solutions, the “corporate director” of the scheme, failed to act with due skill, care and diligence.
In the first post on the “Woodford Views” website, Mr Woodford says that he will “shed light” on the events leading to the collapse of the WEIF.
He says: “I have witnessed up close great success and crushing disappointment. I have met outstanding owners and managers, and from time to time, the unscrupulous and incompetent.
“With respect to my story, the truth is that I am neither hero nor villain. I was never the financial saviour of Middle England, but then, neither do I think I was worthy of the onslaught that followed the failure of my business.”
Mr Woodford writes that he has had the chance to “think long and hard” about what went wrong with the fund, and blames “things beyond our control”, including the political and economic landscape.
He adds: “As much as I would not choose to relive that extremely challenging time, I learned much from it and believe that going through it has given me important and valuable insights, which will help inform my analysis and commentary.”
The Telegraph found the website is owned by a company called Caldair Creative Ltd, which lists as its director Jonathan Adair, Mr Woodford’s former chief technology officer.
It is not the first time that Mr Woodford has sought to reinvent himself since the collapse of the WEIF.
He was reported to have travelled to China in 2019 for conversations with investors about new ventures.
In 2021, the Jersey financial regulator dashed his plans to relaunch himself from the island, saying that it would not be used as a “back door” to return to the UK market.
The Woodford Equity Investment Fund, which had been worth £10bn at its peak in 2017, was suspended in June, 2019, following severe liquidity issues.
One of its largest investors, Kent County Council, had asked to pull its full £260m holding after a period of unimpressive returns, sparking the freeze and eventual collapse.
Around 300,000 investors were left out of pocket. After years of wrangling between the regulator and the authorised corporate directors, Link Fund Solutions, a High Court judge approved a £230m scheme of redress in February this year.
Around £183m is due to be paid into victims’ accounts this month, with a further £230m to come later.
But while 90pc of the 54,000 investors who voted decided to accept the scheme, campaigners said that it prevented them from pursuing further legal action or taking their case to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The FCA said that investors had overwhelmingly voted in favour of the scheme.
Mr Woodford was contacted for comment.