Old Mutual Wealth chief executive Paul Feeney has contacted clients to defend a decision to shut the Skandia Invesco Perpetual income funds, pointing to "truly exceptional circumstances" following Neil Woodford's departure.
In a note to investors, Feeney (pictured) acknowledged the group's decision to shut the Skandia Invesco Perpetual Income and High Income Funds and transfer over £600m to Woodford's new equity income fund "may have come as a surprise". In total, life and pensions clients had £640m invested in the funds, with clients forced to foot an estimated bill of £6.4m as a result of Skandia's decision to shut the funds and switch the assets to a Skandia-owned mirror of Woodford's new fund. Feeney said the group had been "between a rock and a hard place" following Woodford's resignation from Inves...
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