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| Top stockpicker Neil Woodford apologises for suspending fund | Top stockpicker Neil Woodford apologises for suspending fund |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| One of the UK's top stockpickers has said he is "extremely sorry" after suspending trading in his largest fund. | One of the UK's top stockpickers has said he is "extremely sorry" after suspending trading in his largest fund. |
| Neil Woodford stopped money going in or out of his Woodford Equity Income Fund on Tuesday after increasing numbers of investors asked for their money back. | Neil Woodford stopped money going in or out of his Woodford Equity Income Fund on Tuesday after increasing numbers of investors asked for their money back. |
| The move was "necessary to protect investors' interests", he said. | The move was "necessary to protect investors' interests", he said. |
| A stockpicker - or fund manager - analyses the potential of different stocks to try to decide whether or not they will make a good investment. | A stockpicker - or fund manager - analyses the potential of different stocks to try to decide whether or not they will make a good investment. |
| Investors had withdrawn about £560m from the fund over the past four weeks. | Investors had withdrawn about £560m from the fund over the past four weeks. |
| "As difficult a decision as this is, and clearly frustrating for you, our investors, we felt this was necessary to protect your interests," he said. | |
| He said that due to the rising number of investors withdrawing funds, the stock market was "in a way anticipating the fact that we would have to be sellers of stocks to meet those redemptions." | |
| Therefore, the prices the firm could get for those stocks "would be disadvantageous for investors". | |
| "I'm extremely sorry that we've had to take this decision, we will keep our investors informed. We will use this time to reposition the fund." | |
| He said the fund needed time to reduce its exposure to illiquid and unquoted shares "to zero". | |
| Illiquid stocks can't be easily sold quickly, and investors may make a loss on them, while unquoted shares are those in private, non-listed, companies. | |
| Mr Woodford made the apology in a video published on Youtube. | |
| He added he would be "doing more to answer any further questions over the coming days and weeks." | He added he would be "doing more to answer any further questions over the coming days and weeks." |