Woodford dividend payout is ‘obscene’
NOBODY contacted by
Wealth over the past few days had a kind word to say about Neil Woodford’s decision to take £13.8 million in dividends (money shared between him and colleague Craig Newman) – just before Equity Income ran into trouble in June last year. Trouble that led to the flagship fund’s suspension and has resulted in the breakup of the fund, crystallising losses for investors that could exceed 50 per cent.
Adrian Lowcock, at fund scrutineer Willis Owen, says the fact that Woodford can walk away with millions of pounds while Equity Income investors are still waiting to see how much money they will get back is ‘sickening’.
Patrick Connolly, at financial adviser Chase de Vere, says the dividends look ‘obscene’. He adds: ‘Woodford is being rewarded for failure while his investors are suffering.’
Bob Rennison, who invested in Equity Income on the recommendation of broker Hargreaves Lansdown, says Woodford ‘deserves to go to prison’ – though he accepts the dividends paid are legal.
Fund manager Alan Miller helped Wealth uncover some of the decisions Woodford made, confirming our view that the Woodford business was living on borrowed time.
He says the regulator should never have allowed Woodford and Newman to take the dividends when it knew the risk profile of Equity Income had changed for the worse.
He is also scornful of the note attached to Woodford’s accounts stating ‘negative press coverage’ was partly to blame for the fund’s suspension, saying: ‘It was his dismal record that led to investors giving up on him.’