The UK financial advocacy group, Transparency Task Force, has suggested that disgraced fund manager Neil Woodford should have his CBE revoked. This comes following the opinion that Woodford displayed minimal remorse and took barely any tangible measures to rectify the aftermath of the downfall of his flagship fund in 2019. Woodford has faced criticism, with one gripe being his lax understanding of his responsibilities, something the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority warned him about in April. Yet, shortly following this rebuke, Woodford unveiled his new blog, denying being a culprit, attributing some occurrences to uncontrollable factors, including the shifting political and economic scenes in the post-Brexit era.
Woodford, in 2016, commissioned a report from Capital Economics, founded by Daily Telegraph columnist and Brexit supporter Roger Bootle, predictably yielding harmless results around Brexit. He then confidently waved aside concerns tied to Brexit. In 2017, Woodford procured another such comforting report, later expressing his discontent with the barrage of anti-Brexit sentiment from the “London elite” and those with “vested interests”.
The perception that Woodford was correct about Brexit and virtually all mainstream economists were incorrect was costly for him. No one impelled Woodford, recognised as an old-school value investor, to step into unfamiliar territories like ambitious biotech ventures and unlisted startups, or to heavily invest in illiquid AIM companies.
Woodford needs to admit more accountability. Much like former UK prime minister Liz Truss, Woodford appears to view himself as a casualty of external circumstances, rather than the author of his own undoing.