Fidelity's Wright: My 'well-timed' sale of Volkswagen

Sold out before emission scandal

The decision to sell out of his holding in Volkswagen just weeks before the emissions scandal broke proved timely for Alex Wright, manager of the £2.7bn Fidelity Special Situations fund.

The manager (pictured) held 2.5% in the stock in his £2.7bn fund earlier this year but began selling down the holding after it had risen 50% since the purchase. He sold his final 0.5% in the holding at the beginning of September, around two weeks before the emissions scandal broke. The share price fell 19% on 21 September, after news emerged the company had been rigging cars to pass emission tests in America. It resulted in 500,000 cars being recalled and VW facing fines of up to $19bn. Although the share price of VW has fallen 28% over the past month, Wright said this has failed t...