When the Fund Stops

The untold story behind the downfall of Neil Woodford, Britain's most successful fund manager

By: David Ricketts

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Paperback | 26 January 2021

At a Glance

Paperback
208 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20.5 x 13.5 x 1.5

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Neil Woodford was the UK's most celebrated fund manager. Savers who invested GBP1,000 with him in 1988 saw their money increase to GBP25,000 over 25 years. At the peak of his career he was managing GBP33 billion for hundreds of thousands of investors.

When he started his own fund management company in 2014, within just a few weeks it had attracted GBP5bn from his loyal fan base, including some of the City of London's biggest hitters. Life was good. Away from work he was collecting high-performance supercars and chunky designer watches; he was rarely out of the saddle of his favourite horse. The BBC called him the "man who can't stop making money".

And then it all came to a sudden stop.

This book tells the dramatic untold story behind Woodford's stunning rise and fall, and reveals why his multi-billion-pound investment empire really collapsed in such an abrupt and catastrophic manner.

In a fast-moving and compelling narrative, reporter David Ricketts takes readers inside the rooms where extraordinary sums of other people's money were wagered, trapped and, ultimately, lost, in a scandal still sending shockwaves through the world of finance.

Thanks to unique and unprecedented access to the most important players, we meet an eccentric cast of characters and go inside the institutions involved, from Woodford's own firm to those that made huge sums endorsing him - as well as those who failed to raise the alarm before it was too late.

About the Author

David Ricketts is an experienced financial journalist and has covered the fund management industry for more than a decade. He is asset management correspondent at Financial News, the Dow Jones-owned publication based in London where has worked since 2017. He began his career as a reporter at the Financial Times Group just before the onset of the global financial crisis. He lives in Kent with his wife and two children. This is his first book.

Industry Reviews

"A highly readable account of one man's rise and fall from grace in an industry which most of us rely on in some way for our pensions and savings income. This book serves as a reminder that what goes up usually does come down, but in this case was aided by a culture of arrogance based on past performance and a view that rules were there to be broken." --Nicky Morgan, The Rt Hon the Baroness Morgan of Cotes

"This is an interesting book, written as a fast paced story that makes you eager to turn the next page. I highly commend David Ricketts' book as recommended reading for any investor prior to allocating significant money to any fund manager." --Cliff Weight, director at ShareSoc

"A page turner that gives a fly-on-the-wall account of how Woodford went from hero to zero. It serves a salutary reminder of how a sure-fire winner, left unchecked, can cause so much financial misery to hundreds of thousands of small investors who were led to believe that Woodford had the Midas touch. The book singles out the red flags that were ignored by investors, their advisors and the regulators alike. It deserves to be read widely in this age where individual investors are obliged to plan for their own retirement nest egg." --Professor Amin Rajan, academic, leadership coach and CEO of Create Research

"A fascinating read." --James Max, host of talkRADIO's the Business Breakfast

"A revelatory book, which fascinatingly recounts how small investors were let down by a big fund manager who lost his golden touch and lost them significant amounts of money. Essential reading for ordinary investors and hopefully a wake-up call for regulators too." --Baroness Ros Altmann CBE, former pensions minister

"[A] vivid and affecting account, providing greater insights into 'Woody' Woodford's private life and character. ... Ricketts depicts the ensuing slow-motion car crash well" --Ian Fraser, Literary Review

"An excellent book" --Paul Lewis, presenter of BBC Radio 4's Money Box

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