Update: Morningstar downgrades Woodford's Equity Income fund

Moved down to Bronze

Morningstar has downgraded the Woodford Equity Income fund, just days after Charles Stanley Direct (CSD) removed the fund from its Foundation Fundlist, amid concerns the vehicle is hindered by its positioning in smaller companies.

The £6.6bn fund has been downgraded by the ratings provider from silver to bronze. Peter Brunt, senior analyst for manager research at Morningstar, said the decision had been made based on the fund's "extreme positioning" at the smaller end of the market, adding the fund was "less nimble" than its competitors.  "While Neil Woodford is broadly targeting the same kind of opportunities as those of his Invesco Perpetual days, there is a greater exposure to stocks found at the lower end of the market-cap scale and to unquoted companies," Brunt said. "The bias to the former has become fa...