Stock picker 'took as much money as he could' before fund collapsed: investment firm founder
Peter Hargreaves accused fellow British investment titan Neil Woodford of taking "as much money as he could" before one of Woodford's major funds was suspended, during an interview with The Daily Mail.
Woodford "knew he was toast and took as much money as he could, anticipating the demise of his business," Hargreaves said.
The fund in question is money manager Woodford's £2.9 billion Equity Income Fund. Woodford prevented customers from withdrawing money from the fund after many of them got nervous following poor market bets, The Guardian reported in June.
FILE PHOTO: British fund manager Neil Woodford is seen in this undated handout image released July 18, 2019. Jonathan Atkins/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Woodford's firm shuttered last week, The Daily Mail reported.
Hargreaves cast doubt on Woodford's ability to pick stocks or perform due diligence in The Daily Mail interview.
Hargreaves is co-founder of one of the United Kingdom's largest financial services businesses and is worth $3.8 billion, according to Forbes.
Peter Hargreaves, executive director of Hargreaves Lansdown Plc, poses for a photograph in London, U.K., on Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Woodford blamed the fund's shutdown on its authorized corporate director, an organization called Link Fund Solutions Limited.
"This is with a view to returning cash to investors at the earliest opportunity," Link said of the decision in a letter to investors last week.
"We did not agree with Link's decision and fully expected the fund to reopen at the end of the year as investors had previously been advised," a Woodford spokesperson told FOX Business on Sunday.
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