Woodford

Leigh Day issue court proceedings against Link

Leigh Day issued court proceedings against Link on Monday 27 September 2021.  This is a huge step forward in getting compensation for the many thousands of unfortunates who lost money in Woodford’s WEIF funds. Leigh Day’s issuing of proceedings is a big milestone. We are concerned, however, that roughly only 5-10% of the 270,000 or so investors seem to have joined any claim so far. We urge all WEIF investors to join a claim. We believe that Leigh Day are streets ahead of ...

TodayUKNews, 28 September 2021, Update: Link vows to defend itself as Leigh Day Woodford case heads to court

ShareSoc's director Cliff Weight was quoted in this article in Today UK News: Cliff Weight, Woodford campaign director at ShareSoc, added: “This is a huge step forward in getting compensation for the many thousands of unfortunates who lost money in Woodford’s WEIF funds. Leigh Day’s issuing of proceedings is a big milestone.”

Law360, 28 September 2021, Investors Take Woodford Fund Administrator To Court

ShareSoc was quoted in this article in Law 360: ShareSoc, a campaigning organization that represents shareholders, said on Monday that the case is a "huge step forward in getting compensation for the many thousands of unfortunates who lost money."

This is Money, 27 September 2021, Wounded investors to get their day in court as they try to recoup losses from the collapse of Woodford’s fund

ShareSoc director Cliff Weight is quoted in this article in This is Money: Cliff Weight, Woodford Campaign Director at ShareSoc said: 'This is a huge step forward in getting compensation for the many thousands of unfortunates who lost money in Woodford’s WEIF funds. 'Leigh Day’s issuing of proceedings is a big milestone.'

Woodford – What Happens Next? 30 September 2021 – 5pm-6:30pm

Woodford Investors are flocking to ShareSoc’s What Happens Next event (30/09/21 at 5pm), headlined by Jeff Prestridge, Personal Finance editor of the Mail on Sunday. Tell your friends and family if they invested in a Woodford fund that they need to join them.       It’s time to update Woodford investors and ShareSoc Campaign members on progress to date. As well as update you on the prospects of you claiming back some of the losses and the potential timeline of when you might get ...

The FCA’s proposed Consumer Duty is welcomed by ShareSoc – Radical change is needed

ShareSoc has delivered an 8 page response to the FCA's consultation: A new Consumer Duty : FCA Consultation Paper CP21/13. We made the following key points: We welcome the proposed new Consumer Duty, which will set clearer and higher standards. For too long, retail consumers of financial products and services have been treated unfairly. Too often, the financial services industry has exploited weaknesses in the financial education, knowledge and behavioural biases of customers to charge excessive fees and deliver unsuitable products. We find it disappointing ...

Woodford Campaign Update 6
10 July 2021

1. Leigh Day, whose claim ShareSoc has endorsed, submitted their Letter Before Action (LBA) to Link in March and Leigh received a reply from Clifford Chance (on behalf of Link) in June, which they are now reviewing. 2. The FCA published a new report on Authorised Fund Managers (also referred to as ACDs), on 30 June. This highlighted the importance of the role Link should have played and in our view further supports the strength of the Leigh Day claim. Our comments ...

FCA, AFMs, ACDs, High fees for inappropriate products, Closet indexers

By Cliff Weight, Director, ShareSoc. These are my personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of ShareSoc. The FCA has published two reports in a week that highlight the historic failings of the fund management industry and are hugely critical. According to Wealth Manager "In a damning report, the watchdog said fund houses have failed to properly assess the value of their funds." see https://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manager/news/asset-managers-can-t-explain-why-funds-offer-value-fca-says/a1527497 It is a good report with many sensible suggestions. It should have been done 5 years ago immediately ...

ShareSoc and UKSA response to FCA Discussion Paper DP21/1 – Strengthening our financial promotion rules

ShareSoc and the UK Shareholders Association made a joint submission on the FCA Discussion Paper DP21/1 Strengthening our financial promotion rules for high-risk investments and firms approving financial promotions. In a 9 page response to the FCA, we noted: ShareSoc and UKSA represent the views of individual investors (aka retail investors). We have combined over 8,000 members. This is an important discussion paper and we welcome the chance to submit our views. We would be happy to meet to give further background. We think there ...

Policy and Campaigns – Progress Update 14 June 2021

ShareSoc News Item by Director Cliff Weight In May and early June, we worked on: Woodford Campaign: Leigh Day received their response from Clifford Chance to their LBA (Letter Before Action). It looks like the case will go to court but it could take 3 more years. Leigh Day remain the only claim with insurance and funding in place. Harcus Parker have funding but do not have ATE insurance. RGL have neither insurance nor funding (other than funding for an initial ...

Woodford Debacle – FT invites you to tell them what you think

ShareSoc News item by Cliff Weight. The FT on Friday 21 May asked for views from investors with money trapped in Neil Woodford’s former fund. It said: Nearly two years on from the collapse of Neil Woodford’s flagship fund, more than 300,000 investors are still waiting to recoup their money — and FT Money would like to hear from readers affected by the fallout. The FT asked specifically about these 6 questions. As the liquidation process drags on, what impact has this had on your ...

Woodford Campaign Update 5
19 May 2021

1. Leigh Day, whose claim ShareSoc has endorsed, submitted their Letter Before Action (LBA) to Link in March and are still awaiting a response. Leigh Day are preparing assiduously for all eventualities re claim vs Link. 2. We urge everyone to tell their Friends and Family about the Campaign, Leigh Day Claim and the webinar. Around 500,000 may be eligible to claim, but so far less than 5% have done so. Please spread the word! Potentially claimants can recover up to 70% ...