Woodford investors join case against Hargreaves Lansdown
Investors in Neil Woodford’s former fund have seen their numbers in the legal case against Hargreaves Lansdown swell to over 8,300.
RGL Management, which is leading the claim, said it had added a further 1,700 investors to the claim in recent weeks in a claim that estimates suggest could reach as large as £200m.
Following the resolution of the legal case against Woodford’s fund administrator Link Fund Solutions, the case against Hargreaves is currently the only pending case surrounding the Woodford collapse.
Last year, Link agreed to a scheme for former investors to be paid back millions in settlements as a result of the collapse, avoiding a hefty fine from the Financial Conduct Authority as a result.
Neil Woodford spoke exclusively to City PM last year and pointed the finger at Link for the collapse of the fund.
The current case from RGL focuses on Hargreaves Lansdown’s continued promotion of the Woodford Equity Income fund up until its suspension in 2019, despite concerns over the liquidity of the fund.
As well as the balance of capital losses yet to be recovered, RGL claimants are also claiming damages for the loss of the opportunity of investing in alternative investments that, in contrast to Woodford’s fund, would have generated positive returns.
The first substantive stage of the High Court proceedings will begin when the claims are served in two months time, RGL said.
The number of people joining the case has grown significantly in recent months and weeks, rising from 5,000 in November, to 6,600 earlier this month, to more than 8,300 today.
RGL said “the legal claim for losses against Hargreaves Lansdown may still be very significant”, despite the previous Link settlement.
As well as the balance of capital losses yet to be recovered, RGL claimants are also claiming damages for the loss of the opportunity of investing in alternative investments that, in contrast to the WEIF, would have generated positive returns.
Meanwhile, Andy Agathangelou, co-founder of the Woodford Campaign Group, published an open letter today to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services today on Woodford.
The campaigner chastised the FCA for failing to publish a full report on the saga, despite having investigated it for over five years.
Hargreaves Lansdown declined to comment.