Woodford Investment Management

What Woodford Investment Management does

Woodford Investment Management Ltd is a privately held UK investment management firm incorporated in England and Wales (company number 10118169), authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 745433. Founded around 2014 by Neil Woodford, the firm specialised in active equity income fund management for UK retail investors, distributed primarily through investment platforms such as Phoenix Wealth. Its product set comprised the Woodford Equity Income Fund (the flagship), the Woodford Income Focus Fund, the Woodford Patient Capital Trust, and the Woodford Equity Income Feeder Fund.

The firm scaled rapidly on the back of Neil Woodford's reputation, with the Equity Income Fund reaching a peak of £10.1 billion in assets under management in May 2017. The model relied on standard active management economics: management fees on retail AUM, intermediated via UK platforms and financial advisers, with the fund range concentrated in UK and international equities targeting income and capital growth.

In June 2019 the Woodford Equity Income Fund was suspended amid liquidity issues, leaving £3.5 billion trapped for 300,000 investors. Link Fund Solutions wound the fund up in October 2019; the Income Focus Fund was transferred to Standard Life Investments (Aberdeen Standard Investments) effective 31 December 2019; and the Patient Capital Trust was renamed and transferred to Schroders in 2020, with the Feeder Fund's portfolio management role terminated by Woodford itself. As a result, the firm is now operationally wound down; its website carries only regulatory and wind-down communications, Craig Newman is recorded as CEO, and the FCA imposed £40 million on the firm and £5.889 million on Neil Woodford on 8 August 2025, alongside a senior-management ban on the founder. A £230 million Redress Scheme, administered by Link, had paid out £186 million to investors as of December 2025.

Name

Woodford Investment Management

Legal name

Woodford Investment Management Ltd

Website

https://woodfordfunds.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Woodford Investment Management is a UK-based, FCA-authorised investment firm that managed active equity income funds for retail investors, primarily the Woodford Equity Income Fund. The firm is operationally wound down following the 2019 fund suspension, subsequent fund transfers to other managers, and 2025 FCA fines totalling £46 million.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Large-Cap Equity (Active) (FSAAAIAA)

Keywords

• Equity income funds
• Active fund management
• Mutual fund management
• UK asset management
• Investment trust management

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Woodford Investment Management was a UK-based investment management firm that built and managed a family of actively managed equity income and growth funds for retail investors. Its flagship was the Woodford Equity Income Fund, complemented by the Woodford Income Focus Fund, the Woodford Patient Capital Trust, and the Woodford Equity Income Feeder Fund. Funds were distributed via third-party investment platforms and financial advisers in the United Kingdom, with revenue generated through management fees on assets under management.

Product overview

Woodford Investment Management is a UK-based investment management firm that managed a family of investment funds. The company operated four main products: the Woodford Equity Income Fund (a flagship equity income fund that collapsed in 2019 and was wound up), the Woodford Income Focus Fund (now managed by Standard Life Investments), the Woodford Patient Capital Trust (now managed by Schroders), and the Woodford Equity Income Feeder Fund (terminated). The firm is currently winding down operations following regulatory action by the FCA, which fined the firm £40 million and founder Neil Woodford £5.889 million for investment management failures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Woodford Equity Income Fund Flagship actively managed UK equity income fund for retail investors, which peaked at £10.1 billion AUM in May 2017 before being suspended in June 2019 due to liquidity issues (trapping £3.5 billion for 300,000 investors) and wound up by Link Fund Solutions in October 2019.
• Woodford Income Focus Fund Woodford-managed fund focused on income-oriented investments; following termination of Woodford as portfolio manager, Standard Life Investments Limited (part of Aberdeen Standard Investments) was appointed new investment manager effective 31 December 2019.
• Woodford Patient Capital Trust Investment trust originally managed by Woodford focused on long-term, higher-risk growth investments; following Woodford's departure the trust was renamed and is now managed by Schroders.
• Woodford Equity Income Feeder Fund Feeder fund that channelled capital into the Woodford Equity Income Fund; following the events of 2019, Woodford served notice of termination in relation to its role as Portfolio Manager in October 2019.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Broad incumbents

• Columbia Threadneedle Investments: Global asset manager with a sizeable UK active equity and equity income business serving retail investors through UK platforms, comparable in distribution and product mix.
• Schroders plc: Global asset manager that absorbed the renamed Woodford Patient Capital Trust, and operates a comparable UK active equity capability including income and growth strategies targeting retail and institutional investors.
• Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM): One of the largest UK asset managers with a broad range of equity index and active funds distributed through UK platforms, representing the broader incumbent set against which Woodford competed for retail flows.
• abrdn plc: Global asset manager whose subsidiary (Standard Life Investments) took over the Woodford Income Focus Fund in December 2019, and operates broadly in UK retail and institutional active equity with comparable strategies.
• Royal London Asset Management: Large UK active asset manager (mutual structure) running equity income and UK equity strategies for both retail and institutional clients, with overlapping distribution through UK platforms.
• Invesco Ltd: Global asset manager with a substantial UK active equity business (formerly Invesco Perpetual) competing in the same retail equity income segment as the Woodford Equity Income Fund.

Direct peers

• Jupiter Fund Management: London-listed UK active asset manager with a strong retail-facing equity income franchise historically competing directly for the same pool of UK retail equity income capital that the Woodford Equity Income Fund targeted.
• M&G plc: Large UK-focused active asset manager with a flagship income-style retail fund range that directly overlaps the target customer segment and product proposition Woodford served.
• Baillie Gifford & Co: Edinburgh-based active equity manager known for high-conviction stock picking, directly comparable to Woodford's investment style and retail distribution footprint in UK and global equities.

Emerging players

• Premier Miton Investors: Smaller UK-listed active asset manager with concentrated equity income and UK value strategies directly comparable to the Woodford proposition, competing for the same UK retail intermediary capital.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights3 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/woodfordfunds

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments62 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Woodford Investment Management