Openwork is to launch a UK equity fund next month to be managed by Woodford Investment Management.
The UK Income & Growth fund will be available to the network’s advisers in a bespoke mandate embracing the approach and style that has underpinned Neil Woodford’s 30-year career.
It will take positions in both listed and unquoted companies across the UK, as part of Openwork’s investment proposition Omnis, which offers multi-asset model portfolios built with sector funds run by groups including Schroders, Jupiter and Threadneedle.
Mr Woodford’s CF Woodford Equity Income fund landed the number one spot in The Share Centre’s top traded funds list last month. Launched in June 2014, the fund offers a portfolio comprised of blue chip companies, as well as a number of young businesses.
Philip Martin, marketing director at Openwork, said: “We know that Woodford Investment Management has been inundated with requests to manage money and we are absolutely delighted that they have chosen to partner with Omnis.
“It is a real validation of the scale of Openwork that we can form a long-term partnership with the UK’s most celebrated fund manager and we look forward to working with Neil and his team to grow the fund and deliver positive outcomes for customers.”
Craig Newman, chief executive at Woodford Investment Management, said: “We look forward to working with Openwork and creating a fund capable of delivering the outcomes its clients seek.”
Mark Dampier, research director at Bristol-based Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Neil Woodford has got a big piece with St James’s Place, so this gives him extra distribution and gives these clients a product to sell. It’s a result of what you see after RDR. Distributors are becomine product providers and product providers want to distribute. It’s a result of RDR.”
