AJ Bell head of investment partnerships, Ryan Hughes, comments on developments this week impacting investors in the Woodford Equity Income Fund:
“Following news that Waystone completed the purchase of Link Fund Solutions on Monday, the next step of the Woodford debacle has now been taken following a Court hearing that concluded yesterday. Investors now know that the details of the scheme will be sent to investors on 20th October and that voting on the proposed settlement will be completed by 4th December with the result known nine days later. A further Court hearing will then be held in mid-January to sanction the outcome. An interesting element of the court case were legal arguments over whether retail and institutional investors should be treated differently. However, this argument brought forward by some investors was not allowed by the judge who deemed all investors should be treated equally under the scheme.
“This is another important step for investors, who have been patiently waiting well over four years for closure, as the hearing set out the terms for investors to be able to vote on the proposed settlement scheme. Investors will know the outcome of the vote before Christmas and while a positive vote will hardly bring much Christmas cheer, it will at least move investors closer to the end of a process that in the eyes of many has dragged on for way too long.”
Key dates:
- 20 October 2023: Explanatory Statement issued to ‘scheme creditors’ (the investors)
- 4 December 2023: Voting forms submitted to Link Fund Solutions Limited (LFSL)
- 13 December 2023: Scheme meeting takes place
- 18 January 2024: Second court hearing (the Sanction Hearing) takes place