171: From Triumph to Trauma: The Dramatic Investment Arc of Neil Woodford, Founder of Woodford Investment Management

In this episode of the Money Maze Podcast, host Simon Brewer interviews Neil Woodford, a prominent UK fund manager, about his career, investment strategies, and the events leading to the downfall of his investment management firm. The conversation is structured into three parts, using mountaineering terminology: "scaling the peak" (Woodford's early success), "descent into the crevasse" (the challenges and ultimate failure), and "return to base camp" (lessons learned and future outlook). Woodford discusses his early life, investment philosophy rooted in fundamental valuation, and key decisions, including avoiding the TMT bubble and exiting financial stocks before the 2008 crisis. The discussion covers the shift in his portfolio towards smaller, unquoted companies, the liquidity issues that arose, and his perspective on the fund's suspension and liquidation, as well as his views on the UK's need for patient capital and his future plans.