Following months of intense media coverage and speculation, Woodford (pictured) finally launched his new fund earlier this month, having left Invesco Perpetual in April after more than 25 years’ service. CF Woodford Equity Income was expected to garner a huge amount of investor interest, with many experts saying they would sell their holdings in the Invesco Perpetual High Income and Income funds to follow Woodford to his new venture.
Figures from Woodford Investment Management certainly confirm the new fund's popularity – during its offer period, which spanned between June 2 and June 14, the fund received £1.6bn in inflows.
“We are thrilled to have had such support from investors,” said Craig Newman, chief executive at Woodford Investment Management.
“We understand the great responsibility we have been given to deliver the long-term investment returns they anticipate and we are committed to achieving that objective.
“We want to be open and transparent with our investors and this is why we will publish the fund’s entire portfolio on the website so that everyone can see where their money is invested, rather than just the top-10 holdings as many companies do. We expect this to be available by mid-July.”
Woodford says that he has already invested 95 per cent of that capital into the market.
“I am really excited with the portfolio that I have been able to build for this fund,” Woodford said.
“I have met businesses in recent weeks that have immense potential and offer fantastic investment value. My entire focus is finding companies like this that I believe can deliver long-term value to the investors that have the confidence to invest in my fund.”
CF Woodford Equity Income has lost 0.86 per cent since the fund began trading last week, which means that it is currently down against both the FTSE All Share and the IMA UK Equity Income sector.
However, most investors buying into this fund will be more focused on Woodford’s ability to increase the value of their capital and defend it over the longer term, as he did as manager of the Invesco Perpetual High Income fund.
The fund made 2,407.69 per cent during his 26-year tenure as manager, beating the FTSE All Share by more than 1,400 percentage points.
Performance of fund vs index between Feb 1988 and Mar 2014
Source: FE Analytics
While Woodford no longer has any affiliation with Invesco Perpetual, he still manages the SJP UK High Income fund, which has AUM of £1.4bn.
Little is known about what the new fund’s portfolio actually looks like, but many industry commentators expect Woodford to run it in a similar way to his old Invesco Perpetual vehicles. The group has suggested that Woodford will aim to make use of his 20 per cent overseas exposure, which is provided to him by the IMA sector definition.
CF Woodford Equity Income fund’s annual management charge (AMC) is 1 per cent, which the group says will become the same as the ongoing charges figure (OCF) as it absorbs fund-related expenses.
