Helen Catt, a political correspondent, reported on the aftermath of the collapse of the Woodford Equity Income Fund in 2019, which left around 300,000 people with significant financial losses. Despite the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announcing a “redress scheme” in 2023 to help investors recover some funds, many feel misled and locked out of other consumer protections that could have provided additional support. Ian Duffield and his wife Linda, who invested £234,000 in the fund, were left with a loss of about £107,000 even after recovering some money when the assets were sold off.
Investors such as Paul King, who trusted in the fund’s apparent protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, now feel “shafted” after voting to accept the redress scheme and losing access to additional compensation. The sense of betrayal is palpable among those who put their faith in the system to safeguard their investments for the future. Ian Duffield, for example, saw his hopes dashed when he realized the scheme would not cover the full extent of his losses, leaving him and his wife with a nearly £100,000 deficit.
Calls for an investigation into the FCA’s handling of the fund’s collapse have been made by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services. The APPG contends that the FCA failed to adequately communicate the details of the redress scheme, leading to confusion among investors who were not fully informed of the nuances and intricacies involved. Despite the approval of the scheme by a majority of investors, concerns remain about how the FCA, LFS, and other parties managed the aftermath of the fund’s collapse and the limitations of the compensation offered to affected individuals
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