FCA takes aim at Link with £50m fine

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Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.

News that the FCA has issued Link Fund Solutions a draft Warning Notice in relation to its activities with the Woodford Equity Income fund hopefully indicates that the investigation is now moving towards its final phases. The draft notice informs Link that a penalty of £50m is proposed for its failings in the oversight and operation of the fund and now gives Link the opportunity to respond in the next 14 days. This figure is in addition to the potential £306m that was indicated last week for redress to investors in respect of Link’s failing to properly manage the liquidity of the Woodford Equity Income fund.

The FCA’s statement makes it clear that this notification is not a final decision and Link have the opportunity to respond and challenge the FCA’s findings so there may be further detail to come. It’s also clear that further investigations are continuing with the FCA noting that multiple parties remain under investigation as it continues to look at any failings which may have negatively impacted investors.

With this news coming so soon after the potential £306m redress announcement, investors impacted by the Woodford Equity Income fund saga will be increasingly hopeful that this sorry episode is getting closer to completion. While there is still work to do, these updates indicate that progress is being made and this will come as good news to investors who have waited over three years since the fund first suspended.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.

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Written by:
Ryan Hughes

Ryan Hughes, Investments Director - AJ Bell Investments
Ryan started his career in 1999 working for an independent financial adviser, progressing to become Head of Portfolio Management at an award-winning advisory firm. Ryan then joined a global asset management firm as a Fund Manager, where he oversaw more than £10bn of multi-asset portfolios and also sat on the investment and global asset allocation committees. After seven years, Ryan joined a small multi-asset boutique managing portfolios for clients all around the world, before joining AJ Bell in 2016 to help establish our investment capability and overseeing all investment research for AJ Bell. In 2022, Ryan was appointed as Head of Investment Partnerships with responsibility for managing bespoke portfolios tailored to specific adviser needs and then in 2023, Ryan was made Investments Director with oversight of AJ Bell’s investment capability.

Ryan is a member of the CFA UK Society, is frequently asked for his views in the press and on panel debates while also being recognised as one of the leading fund researchers in the UK.