Woodford Pressured to Waive Fund Fees by Key U.K. Lawmaker
Top U.K. Lawmaker Piles Pressure on Woodford to Waive Fund Fees
(Bloomberg) --
Neil Woodford is coming under mounting pressure to waive management fees on his beleaguered fund, with a top U.K. lawmaker saying investors shouldn’t be forced to pay him while they are barred from withdrawing their money.
Nicky Morgan, the chair of parliament’s Treasury Committee, said the suspension in redemptions has given the former star fund manager “breathing room” to resolve the problems. “He should afford his investors the same space and waive the fund’s fees while the fund is suspended,” Morgan said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
The intervention by the a top U.K. lawmaker adds to Woodford’s woes after several of his major backers distanced themselves from the 59-year-old money manager. Hargreaves Lansdown Plc, one of his main supporters, also called on him to halt management fees while investors aren’t able to trade in the fund. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority said on Wednesday it was keeping a close watch on the fund.
A spokesman for Woodford declined to comment on Morgan’s statement.
“The FCA has rightly said that it is closely watching the fund,” she said. “The Treasury Committee will no doubt raise this troubling episode, and what lessons can be learnt, when we take evidence from the FCA and Bank of England.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Silla Brush in London at sbrush@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Shelley Robinson
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