In a statement, WIM said Mr Woodford had managed the WEIF in accordance with a liquidity framework laid down by Link Fund Solutions (LFS), the separate company in charge of the fund’s liquidity.
It said this framework was “fully visible to the FCA, who had never objected to it”.
“There was never an indication that the FCA considered the management of the fund’s liquidity to be inappropriate or unreasonable,” WIM added.
The “true cause of the investor losses”, said WIM, was Link’s decision to liquidate the fund in October 2019, four months after it had been suspended.
During the suspension period, Mr Woodford had been “actively restructuring” the fund and come up with a plan which “could have supported a managed reopening of the fund”, the statement continued.
In October 2023, the Waystone Group acquired the Irish and UK businesses of LFS. Waystone has been approached for comment.
In April 2024, the FCA found that LFS had “failed to act with due skill, care and diligence” in its management of the WEIF.
Both WIM and Mr Woodford said they had “great sympathy for their investors who were impacted by the suspension, and who suffered financial loss when the Fund was liquidated”.
“However, they continue to believe that any loss suffered was avoidable and was a product of bad decisions made by Link after the suspension, which were overseen by the regulator.”
