The board of Woodford Patient Capital (WPCT) should “seriously consider” running off the portfolio and returning cash to its shareholders, according to analysts at broker Stifel.
The board, led by chair Susan Searle, has announced an overhaul of the trust, including dramatically reducing the level of gearing it uses, currently 19%. It has also been in talks with other companies' teams interested in taking over management of the trust. In a note to clients, Stifel's investment company analysts said WPCT's current leverage is just shy of its 20% maximum level. This means it has an "inability to make new investments and difficulties in making follow-on investments". As a result, they said the board should "seriously consider adopting a 'run-off' strategy where in...
To continue reading this article...
Join Investment Week for free
Signup and gain exclusive members-only insights - all free of charge!
- Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
- Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
- Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
- Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
- Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes
