Neil Woodford has defended his use of Guernsey stock exchange listings and an asset swap strategy in the final months before his £17 billion fund empire collapsed.
Speaking publicly for the first time about these tactics on the Money Maze podcast, Woodford denied breaching liquidity rules, insisting the decisions to list in Guernsey were made by the companies, not him.
He acknowledged telling firms he could not support them unless they listed but said the moves were approved by legal advisers and fund overseers.
The listings allowed his Equity Income fund to stay within regulatory limits on unlisted holdings, though they did little to improve actual liquidity. Regulators later criticised the manoeuvres as misleading and formally rebuked his conduct.