What's gone wrong for fund manager Neil Woodford and retail mogul Sir Philip Green?

This is Money Podcast

This is Money

Business News, Business, Investing, News

4.1 • 650 Ratings

🗓️ 7 June 2019

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's been a rocky week to say the least for Britain's most recognisable fund manager Neil Woodford – he suspended trading in his flagship fund, leaving savers unable to access their cash.

And we still don't know the future of Sir Philip Green and his Arcadia empire, after a crucial rescue vote was suspended.

This is Money assistant editor Lee Boyce, retail reporter Emily Hardy and host Georgie Frost discuss how it has gone wrong for the pair.

What has led Woodford to this point, could there be a Financial Conduct Authority investigation, are savers trapped in the fund safe – and can he recover?

Arcadia – with brands like Burton and Topshop – could be set to close 50 stores with the loss of 1,000 staff. What is a CVA and why hasn't Sir Philip managed to get a deal approved this week?

We also discuss the High Street in general and a worrying set of figures – what can be done to help stop the decline?

Elsewhere, we run the rule over a 'bonkers' plan for first-time buyers to raid pension pots for deposits and Lee urges savers to engage with their retirement savings.

And we finally manage to get the Pensions Minister to give us a precise figure on how many people may have received incorrect state pension forecasts.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to This is Money in partnership with NS&I. I'm Georgie Frost and joining Assistant Editor Lee Boyce and I in the studio today is Business and Markets reporter Emily Hardy.
0:10.8	Coming up, the rise and fall of two of the biggest names in finance. What next for Neil Woodford, the star manager suspends trading in his flagship fund, leaving savers unable to get hold of their
0:22.2	cash. Also, we still don't know the future of Sir Philip Green in his Arcadia Empire after a crucial
0:28.0	rescue vote was suspended this week. But can the High Street afford another blow like this?
0:33.2	The latest retail figures show a record decline in sales, prompting warnings of further store closures and job losses.
0:40.6	Also today, pensions fiasco part two.
0:43.6	We've an update from last week's potty over the state pensions calculator blunder.
0:48.2	Plus, what do we make of the housing minister's suggestion
0:50.8	to allow young people to raid their pension pots for a deposit.
0:56.0	Don't forget you stay up to date with all the latest breaking money news.
0:58.7	Just go to this ismoney.com.uk or download the app.
1:02.6	This is Money.
1:03.9	Brought to you in partnership with NS&I, giving your little ones a head start with our junior ISA.
1:09.5	But first, it's been a torrid week for Britain's most well-known fund manager,
1:14.2	and of course those savers who've backed him and his multi-billion pound flagship fund.
1:19.0	Trouble's been brewing for some time.
1:20.6	We've mentioned it quite a lot on the podcast.
1:22.9	But on Monday, things came to a head.
1:24.8	Neil Woodford announced all trading in the fund was being suspended
1:27.8	amid a surge in redemption, sending shockwaves across the city and ordinary investors wondering,
1:33.7	well, what does this mean for them? So, as I said, Lee, we've been discussing troubled times for a while now.
1:40.7	Just briefly recap for us, who is Neil Woodford and therefore why is this so significant?
	...

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