Over 4,000 out-of-pocket investors in Neil Woodford’s failed Woodford Investment Fund (WEIF) have joined a £200 million class-action lawsuit against broker Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LSE:HL.).
Claims-management firm RGL initially launched legal action against Hargreaves in 2022 on behalf of 3,200 investors, citing the broker’s role in promoting the collapsed fund.
RGL confirmed the addition of further claimants this Tuesday, bringing the total number of participants in the class action to 7,200.
It only represents a fraction of the 300,000-plus investors who lost out when WEIF, once valued at more than £3 billion, collapsed in 2019.
RGL accuses Hargreaves of continuing to recommend investing in the fund, “even though it appears they knew of liquidity issues in the WEIF from November 2017”.
Another suit brought against Woodford’s corporate director Link Fund Solutions (LFS) concluded in December 2023 after claimants agreed to a redress package.
The once star stock picker Neil Woodford recently reemerged in the public eye after launching the Woodford Views blog.
Woodford intends to use the blog to resuscitate his reputation after the spectacular failure of WEIF.
“These experiences and others have equipped me to better understand the key ingredients for success in the corporate world,” he wrote in his debut post.
“Ultimately, it is this knowledge and experience I want to share with you in the form of insights on the economy, what’s really going on and what good looks like in the corporate world, both in early-stage and mature businesses.”