LF Equity Income fund: second payment confirmed

Link Asset Services has today confirmed that unit holders of the LF Equity Income fund (the Fund) should expect their second payment from the Fund wind up on or around 25 March 2020. The payment will be calculated on 18 March 2020, and unit holders should expect a further communication on or around 20 March detailing the amount they will receive from this second capital distribution.

The first payment from the Fund wind up was paid to unit holders on 31 January 2020.

Link stated that: “In the period up to 10 March 2020, a further £141.7 million has been generated by the Fund through the sale of assets. This is equivalent to 19.9% of the value of the assets of the Fund (as at 10 March 2020).”

Link continued: “This means that, based on estimated second capital distribution of £141.7 million, for the period up to 10 March 2020, £2,308,100,490 will have been distributed to investors.”

Link took the decision to wind up the Fund in October 2019, and appointed BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited and specialist stockbroker Park Hill to help sell the assets. BlackRock has been managing the more liquid stocks in the Fund, known as Portfolio A, and Park Hill was appointed to manage the less easy to trade stocks known as Portfolio B.

Further payments

Link stated that it was intended that further payments would be made as and when suitable amounts of cash have been raised from the sale of the remaining assets of the Fund. Link said it was unable to advise on the exact timing and amount of these future payments.

Link continued: “Investors should be aware that the assets that remain to be sold are the less liquid assets of the Fund and disposing of these assets may take longer than was the case for the sales to date.”

Income distribution

Link confirmed that a scheduled income distribution for the period 1 January to 17 January 2020, would be calculated and paid on 17 March 2020. This is further to the distribution on 29 February 2020, relating to the period ending 31 December 2019.

What next?

We will continue to waive our platform charge for the Fund while it is wound up. We are speaking to Link, the fund’s administrator, and will keep clients informed of further information relating to the second wind-up payment in due course.