Boss of firm that backed Woodford will not claim £2m bonus
THE boss of Hargreaves Lansdown has volunteered to forgo a bonus of up to £2.1million after the disaster at Neil Woodford’s flagship fund.
Chris Hill, chief executive at the investment platform, said he will not take any bonus payments until the scandal at Woodford Equity Income is resolved, insiders at the firm said.
Equity Income shut its doors to investors on Monday last week due to a shortage of cash to pay for withdrawals as customers fled for the exit.
Hargreaves had repeatedly plugged the toxic fund in its prestigious Wealth 50 list of top investments despite three years of poor performance. A total of 160,000 people invested in Woodford’s funds through Hargreaves, which has launched an internal investigation into the Wealth 50 to ensure it is recommending products in an unbiased way.
Mr Hill has said he will take no bonus until the issue is resolved and the fund reopened. He feels it would be wrong to pocket the money while customers are suffering, sources said. It means he could miss out on an annual bonus of up to £2.1million if the problem is not fixed soon.
The move piles further pressure on Mr Woodford himself to stop charging customers fees while their money is locked away. Hargreaves has already waived fees for investors with money stuck in Equity Income, a decision that is costing the company almost £500,000 a month.
Nicky Morgan, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, has called on the tainted stock-picker to cancel fees until withdrawals reopen.
But Mr Woodford’s firm has refused to follow suit, which means his company is still pocketing close to £100,000 a day from trapped investors. The fund boss claims he is working hard for the money. He has disposed of a string of stocks to release cash so that he can pay investors.
Is your money locked up in Woodford’s fund? Email moneymail@dailymail.co.uk
ONE cheer for Chris Hill, the boss of Hargreaves Lansdown, the biggest champion of flailing fund manager Neil Woodford.
Mr Hill has vowed to shun his eye-watering £2.1million bonus until the fiasco is fixed.
His firm repeatedly tipped Mr Woodford’s toxic fund – persuading tens of thousands of people to trust him with their life savings.
Yet when the fund flopped, Mr Woodford barred savers from accessing their nest eggs while, obscenely, trousering £93,000 every working day in fees. Hargreaves Lansdown professes to promote funds, not offer advice. But it’s a fine line, and investors hang on every word.
Mr Hill, therefore, is right to forego his perk (which he may pocket anyway after the scandal). Mr Woodford should feel the same compunction to behave honourably.
The Mail will save the second and third cheers for then.