Frustrated investors who lost out on the collapse of Neil Woodford’s company have called on the Government to strip the disgraced investment guru of his CBE.
The campaign group, called the Transparency Task Force, is working with around 700 people who suffered losses after the collapse of the share manager’s Woodford Investment Fund five years ago.
Woodford, 64, was appointed CBE for services to the economy in June 2013. He was once described as Britain’s answer to Warren Buffet.
But he suffered a spectacular fall from grace when his eponymous fund, which managed £3.7bn, collapsed in 2019 after it decided to invest in small, unlisted growth companies.
Thousands of investors were left without money after the collapse. In February, a High Court judge approved a £230m redress scheme for investors caught out by the fund’s collapse.
Disgraced: Neil Woodford, 64, was appointed CBE for services to the economy in June 2013. He was once described as Britain’s answer to Warren Buffet.
Andy Agathangelou, founder of the Transparency Task Force, said: “Regardless of the qualities that led to Neil Woodford’s inclusion in the 2013 New Year’s Honors List, many would say that his behavior that led to the closure of his fund of flagship investment in 2019, and since then, it would surely not attract similar approval.’
He added that Woodford “appears to have accepted no formal responsibility, shown very little genuine remorse or made any significant effort to remedy the situation.”
He added: “The fact that he continued to benefit personally as the severity of the situation developed makes him unworthy of continuing to hold the CBE.”
Last month, Woodford broke his silence by launching a new investing blog.
In his first position, he tackled his failing business head-on. He said he is “neither a hero nor a villain” and claimed he was treated harshly by the financial establishment and media.
Ian Duffield, 70, who lost hundreds of thousands of pounds along with his wife, Linda, told The Mail he felt “betrayed” by Woodford after the “nightmare” scandal.
He said: ‘An EBC is supposed to be awarded to people on the understanding that they will continue to be an example to people in the future.
“It can only be right that this CBE should be lost because of the distress caused and financial harm it has caused to hundreds of thousands of ordinary people like Linda and me who entrusted it with their money.”
Although individuals can declare that they would like their title returned, it is the King and his Honors Forfeiture Committee who ultimately have this power.
Earlier this year, former postmaster Paula Vennells said she wanted to hand back her CBE amid an outcry over the Horizon IT scandal.
