Short positions... investors back Woodford settlement

⬛ Those who invested in Augmentum Fintech when it launched in 2018 have had a frustrating five years, says The Telegraph. At 105p, shares in this backer of “challenger banks and fintech disrupters” are significantly down from a 2021 peak of 173p. Its market value amounts to little more than the latest reported value of its top three holdings – small business lender Tide, subscription platform Grover and online lender Zopa – plus its £51.8m in cash. Most of its holdings are growing well: the top ten, which account for 82% of assets, increased revenues by an average of 74% in the year to September. The fund has made five profitable exits since launch, at an average gain of 30%, and has used the proceeds wisely to make follow-on investments and buy back its own shares. It has refused to pay “hyped-up valuations” and hence has avoided the big write-downs that other growth funds have taken. At the current wide discount to NAV, the shares look “highly attractive”.

⬛ Nearly 94% of investors in Neil Woodford’s failed Woodford Equity Income fund have voted to approve a controversial £230m compensation deal, says Citywire. When the fund was suspended in 2019, it held £3.6bn in assets owned to 300,000 investors. Full disbursement of the settlement – which will begin next year – together with distributions from the sale of the fund’s assets will mean that investors get back 77% of the value of the fund when it was closed, according to Link Fund Solutions (LFS), the firm responsible for oversight of the fund, and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Campaigners dispute this and say that the FCA has wrongly urged investors to accept a settlement that restricts their legal rights and may undermine a series of lawsuits that are being pursued against LFS.