Neil Woodford is plotting a comeback that if it succeeds would have to count as one of the business turnarounds of the age.
He’d be a magic mixture of Lazarus and Seabiscuit – a Jesus miracle and a horse who never knew he was beaten rolled into one.
The disgraced, there is no other word for it, fund manager tried to relaunch himself back in 2022, but gave up once he clocked public reaction.
For some reason, no one much wanted to give him any money.
This time he intends to return as an economic guru who plans to be cheerful about Britain.
Given how much money he lost investors, the tone here is just entirely wrong.
Though that does raise the question of whether there is a “right” tone for him to be striking.
Woodford says that “the truth is that I am neither hero nor villain” and that he did not think he “was worthy of the onslaught that followed the failure of my business.”
We can agree with the very first bit of that statement.
He hopes to post “myth-busting conclusions” about the state of our national finances (his are just fine).
I don’t know who is doing Woodford’s PR, but I trust they are being paid a fortune and wish them the best.
It is hard, with all the Christian forgiveness in the world, to wish Woodford himself well.
The collapse of his eponymous empire was one of the UK’s worst investment scandals in an intensely competitive field.
Earlier this month the Financial Conduct Authority said Woodford “had a defective and unreasonably narrow” understanding of his responsibilities as a fund manager.
(In English: You’re not supposed to chuck everyone’s money in the river.)
Woodford lacks self-awareness. The last time I saw him – many years ago – he seemed to have developed a series of nervous twitches.
Crossing his legs before unconvincingly answering a question. Tugging on his ear lobe as he pondered how to avoid the next one.
The PR team that can save him from himself will have earned their keep. I fear it is an impossible job.
