By ROBIN POWELL
It’s the end of an era. After 38 years in the UK asset management industry, Mark Dampier, the former head of research at Hargreaves Lansdown is retiring.
I must say, it’s sad that Mark’s is leaving the industry in the way that he is. Yes, he’s enjoyed a long career, and he retires a millionaire many times over. But there are so many questions about his role in the Neil Woodford fiasco in particular that remain unanswered.
Unanswered questions
Why did he promote Woodford quite so enthusiastically? Why did he and his colleagues in Hargreaves Lansdown’s research department fail to notice the mounting problems with the Equity Income fund? And why did the fund remain on HL’s best buy list right up until its suspension?
We also know that Mark and his wife, along with other Hargreaves Lansdown insiders, sold a large number of HL shares shortly before the scandal came to light. There may be a perfectly innocent explanation for this. But, as far as I know, we haven’t yet been given one.
It’s regrettable that Mark is retiring before the winding down of the Equity Income fund is complete. He of course can’t be blamed for how long the process has taken or how badly it has been handled. It’s also disappointing that we’re still awaiting the outcome of the FCA’s inquiry, though again, that’s out of his control.
No apology
It’s a shame, though, that Mark and other senior colleagues were unable to acknowledge the role they played or offer a proper apology.
I have no doubt that, eventually, large numbers of Hargreaves Lansdown customers will be compensated and repaid at least some of the money they lost by investing with Neil Woodford. But rather more humility on the part of those involved would doubtless have made their losses a little easier to bear.
Mark was fortunate in that his career coincided with a golden age for active fund management. It certainly wasn’t a golden age in terms of investment performance; after costs, only a tiny fraction of active managers have managed to beat the index over the last 30 years. But the rewards on offer for active managers and the largest brokers were very considerable.
The financial media was also far less sceptical than it is today about the value — or lack of value — the industry provides. Mark used to be quoted in the national press almost every weekend. One Sunday newspaper even gave him his own column.
Crossed swords
I’ve crossed swords with Mark many times on social media over the years. He’s always been very reluctant to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence that consistently picking winning funds in advance, as Hargreaves Lansdown claims to be able to do, is almost impossible.
I always had the impression though that, on a personal level, he was far more in favour of low-cost passive investing than he felt able to admit.
Mark is a good guy, who means well, and I wish him all the very best in retirement.
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