The FCA issued £45.9 million in fines to Neil Woodford and Woodford Investment Management

For serious failings in the management of the Woodford Equity Income Fund (WEIF), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed a total fine of £45.9 million on:

• Neil Woodford
• Woodford Investment Management (WIM)

Key Points:

• Neil Woodford has been:
• Fined £5,888,800.00
• Banned from holding senior management roles and from managing funds for retail (DIY) investors.
• Woodford Investment Management has been:
• Fined £40 million.
• The FCA found that between July 2018 and June 2019, Woodford and WIM:
• Made “unreasonable and inappropriate investment decisions”.
• Sold more liquid assets and bought less liquid ones, worsening the fund’s liquidity.
• At the time of suspension, only 8% of the fund’s assets could be sold within 7 days, far below regulatory expectations.
• The FCA concluded that Woodford had a “defective and unreasonably narrow understanding” of his responsibilities, particularly regarding liquidity management.
• The fund was suspended in June 2019, trapping over 300,000 investors, and was later liquidated.
• Woodford and WIM are contesting the FCA’s decision at the Upper Tribunal.

LONG READ

• The Financial Conduct Authority has decided to fine Neil Woodford and his firm almost £46mn for “failures in their management” of the collapsed Woodford Equity Income fund, while also banning him from running money for DIY investors.
• The FCA said it had decided to fine Woodford £5,888,800 and ban him from holding senior manager roles and managing funds for retail investors, while also fining Woodford Investment Management £40mn.
• Woodford and his firm will contest the FCA’s decisions at an upper tribunal.
• Woodford had achieved the status of one of the UK’s ‘star’ fund managers after decades of successfully running income funds.
• However, the Woodford Equity Income fund, which had more than £10bn in assets at its peak in 2017, ended up suspending trading in 2019 and ultimately closing thanks to a combination of poor performance and the growing presence of illiquid assets in it.
• The regulator had previously issued a ‘warning’ to Woodford, but only last year, while investors trapped in his fund eventually received a settlement in 2023, meaning around three-quarters of their losses were recovered.
• The FCA has argued that Woodford’s decision to move the portfolio “away from large global companies towards UK companies which were frequently smaller and less well capitalised” in 2017 left the fund vulnerable to liquidity risks.
• The regulator said:
• “The FCA has concluded that between July 2018 and June 2019 [Woodford Investment Management] and Mr Woodford made unreasonable and inappropriate investment decisions”;
• “They disproportionately sold more liquid investments (those that are easier to sell) and bought less liquid ones over this period. This meant that at the time of suspension, only 8 per cent of the investments held by the Woodford Equity Income fund could be sold within seven days;
• Under the rules in place at the time, investors should have been able to access their funds within four days; and
• “WIM and Mr Woodford did not react appropriately as the fund’s value declined, its liquidity worsened, and more investors withdrew their money. These disadvantaged investors who remained in the fund, compared to those who had withdrawn their investment before the fund was suspended.”

SOURCES

• https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-fines-over-woodford-equity-income-fund
• Decision Notice 2025: Neil Woodford (PDF) https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/decision-notices/neil-woodford-2025.pdf
• Decision Notice 2025: Woodford Investment Management Limited (PDF)  https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/decision-notices/woodford-investment-management-ltd-2025.pdf

• https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/content/c4946a9f-9838-410f-96ba-5f33629531ec
• FCA bans and fines Neil Woodford and Woodford IM £46m https://www.investmentweek.co.uk/news/4517280/fca-bans-fines-neil-woodford-woodford-im-46m
• FCA fines Woodford and bans him from senior roles - Morningstar https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/2025080519/fca-fines-woodford-and-bans-him-from-senior-roles
• FCA bans and fines Neil Woodford - FTAdviser https://www.ftadviser.com/woodford-investment-management/2025/8/5/fca-bans-and-fines-neil-woodford-/