Woodford cautions on Edinburgh IT returns after recent gains

Neil Woodford has warned investors in his £1.3bn Edinburgh Investment trust that the recent period of strong performance is unlikely to continue if the Federal Reserve tapers bond purchases.

In the company's latest half-yearly report, Woodford, who departs fund group Invesco Perpetual in April, said while the trust would still deliver a positive return, it would not match the gains of the last three years. "We expect the pace of withdrawal to be gradual but, like the US Federal Reserve, we do worry about the near-term implications of tapering for our asset class," he said. "[The trust] has the potential to deliver an attractive positive return over more sensible, longer time horizons. "We would caution, however, that returns over the next three years are likely to be s...