Woodford £8m fees bonanza

NEIL Woodford has raked in more than £8m of fees from investors stuck in his toxic fund.

Savers have been denied access to cash held in the Woodford Equity Income fund for more than four months as the fund manager’s once mighty investment empire is engulfed in crisis.

But despite banning any withdrawals, Woodford has continued to collect £65,000 a day in fees.

This means that since the fund was suspended in June, freezing savers’ money inside, Woodford Investment Management has pocketed more than £8m.

Despite criticism from regulators, industry peers and MPs, Woodford, 59, has refused to waive the charges.

To add insult to injury, investors who have no choice but to continue to stump up the payments have watched their money dwindle even further since June.

The value of the Equity Income fund has slipped almost 20pc from £3.71bn to £2.99bn, as several of the firms Woodford took a punt on have experienced a tricky few months. Some MPs have called on the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to implement rules which would stop Woodford collecting the money.

Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the FCA, himself suggested that Woodford should stop charging investors. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, added his support to Bailey’s comments.

Woodford was forced to suspend the Equity Income fund after too many investors tried to pull their cash out, and he ran out of ready money with which to repay them.