RGL said the claim was “for investor losses sustained as a result of Hargreaves Lansdown’s conduct in continuing to recommend the WEIF right up to the day of its highly-publicised collapse, despite Hargreaves Lansdown being aware of the fund’s longstanding portfolio diversification and liquidity issues”.
On top of recouping their capital losses, claimants are also seeking damages for the loss of the opportunity of investing elsewhere, which would have generated positive returns.
Link Fund Solutions, Woodford’s fund administrator, has paid out compensation to affected investors through a redress scheme that was agreed with the Financial Conduct Authority. The compensation scheme was worth up to £230m, with the first payments made in March this year.
As such, the RGL action against Hargreaves Lansdown is the only claimant group seeking to recover losses on behalf of WEIF’s investors.
Michael Green, director of RGL Management, which is working with Wallace LLP, said: “Adding thousands more claimants today to the RGL Group action represents another step closer to holding Hargreaves Lansdown to account for its conduct in relation to the WEIF.”
Mr Green added: “RGL and its legal team continue to process thousands more claims and further tranches of claimants will be added to the proceedings against Hargreaves Lansdown as soon as possible.”
Hargreaves Lansdown has been contacted for comment. It previously rejected the claims made by RGL when it first filed its claim in 2022 “for lack of a substantive basis of claim”.