Neil Woodford (pictured) has revealed plans for a £200m ($300m) initial public offering in April for his new investment trust focusing on early-stage companies.
The Woodford Patient Capital Trust will continue Woodford’s two decades of work of long-term investing into early stage firms with a target on university spin-outs. The fund will only change a performance fee, paid out in shares in the fund, as opposed to a standard percentage-based management charge, and will target annual returns of 10%.
The Trust will aim to hold up to 100 stocks within two years, 75% of which will be in early-stage firms on both sides of the Atlantic.
Woodford left Invesco Perpetual, a backer of Cambridge Innovation Capital and Imperial Innovations, last year to form Woodford Investment Management. The firm has gone on to secure £9.3bn worth of assets, which includes his £4.7bn Woodford Equity Income Fund.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Woodford said: “I’ve been investing in early-stage businesses for the best part of 20 years and unquoted businesses for 10 years, and I’ve learned a hell of a lot. What became very clear is that we have an amazing untapped opportunity here. Valuations of companies in this space are on the floor.”
