Woodford Investment Management has reportedly disposed of its stakes in IP Group and Allied Minds, as its scramble to meet regulatory thresholds and redemption demands from investors in its Equity Income fund gathers pace.
UK-based investment firm Woodford Investment Management has sold shareholdings in commercialisation firms IP Group and Allied Minds, weeks after exiting university venture fund Oxford Sciences Innovation, according to the Financial Times.
Filings cited by the FT suggest Woodford Investment Management, founded by fund manager Neil Woodford, has sold roughly 5% equity in IP Group and Allied Minds and sold similarly sized stakes or reduced its exposure to a number of other investments.
Woodford’s portfolio cuts appear to be escalating, with the firm selling or paring back 21 investments this time round, compared with two significant shareholdings in May 2019, according to Reuters.
The company’s $4.7bn Equity Income fund was suspended last week in the hope of restructuring its balance sheet, as a flock of its investors sought refunds following a series of failed bets.
Woodford has struggled to stem outflows from its portfolio with the pressure continuing to build on its liquidity, and with Equity Income’s unquoted exposure remaining above the regulatory threshold of 10%.
The firm must also reportedly contend with a fermenting bear sale on its investments by hedge funds including BlackRock and Marshall Wace, as well as investors selling down their exposure to Woodford-linked businesses.
Woodford Investment Management’s listed fund, Woodford Patient Capital Trust, is also being stretched, having lost almost 20% of its share price over the past week or so, Reuters said.
