Neil Woodford

For other people named Woodford, see Woodford (disambiguation)#People.

Neil Woodford (born 1960) is head of investment for Invesco Perpetual in the UK^[1] and has been described as "one of the best known and best performing fund managers in the UK market today".^[2]

Career to date

After graduating in Economics and Agricultural Economics from University of Exeter in 1981, Woodford began his career with the Dominion Insurance Company. In 1987 he became a fund manager with Eagle Star, then moved to Invesco Perpetual in 1988. He has also pursued postgraduate studies in Finance at the London Business School.^[1]

Current responsibilities and reputation

Woodford runs the Invesco Perpetual Income, and Invesco Perpetual High Income funds, with respectively £4.17 billion^[3] and £6.69 billion in assets.^[4] The High Income Fund is Britain's largest investment fund, and accordingly has considerable influence over the sectors he invests in - describing negotiations with government over water pricing, he said: "We had a meeting with a minister only last week. If we can't get an attractive, risk-adjusted return, then they won't get the infrastructure investment they want. We're not a charity."^[5]

Woodford has a reputation as a fund manager who can provide stability and reliability even in turbulent market conditions.^[6] The High Income fund has grown in value by 292.5% (14.7% annualised) over the past 10 years, while the Income fund has grown 301.7% (14.9% annualised) over the past 10 years. Both funds adopt a High Yield approach to investing, as they are in the Equity Income sector, focusing on companies that pay a high dividend yield. Current holdings are focused on the tobacco, telecoms, and utilities sectors, which all have a high dividend yield relative to the share price, as a result of perceived risks (respectively legal action from smokers/health bans, charging pressures and regulator action) restricting share price rises.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Neil Woodford". Invesco Perpetual. Archived from the original on 2007-04-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20070423214800/http://www.invescoperpetual.co.uk/invesco/default/page/fund_adviser/fund_adviser/0,2940,401821_7600_19009647,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-01. 
2. ^ "Factsheet: Neil Woodford in UK Equity Income". Citywire. 2007. http://www.citywire.co.uk/CFI/FundManagerFactsheet.aspx?ManagerID=927&XDU=7cfd3d69-0fa8-4dc5-8360-fb92915c77e0&XDS=O&XDNG=True&XDKL=0&XDURL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.citywire.co.uk%2fCFI%2fFundManagerFactsheet.aspx%3fManagerID%3d927. Retrieved 2007-07-02. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "INVESCO PERP Income Fund". trustnet. http://www.trustnet.com/ut/funds/?fund=477. Retrieved 2007-07-10. 
4. ^ "INVESCO PERP High Income Fund". trustnet. http://www.trustnet.com/ut/funds/?fund=477. Retrieved 2007-07-01. 
5. ^ "Your money in their hands: Invesco Perpetual". Guardian Unlimited. September 23, 2006. http://money.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1878757,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-01. 
6. ^ Justin Harper (2007). "Managers who can beat off the bears". The Daily Mail. http://jadn.co.uk/w/ManagersBeatTheBears.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-01. 

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Name	Woodford, Neil
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Date of birth	1960
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