Four Hargreaves Lansdown bosses waive bonuses over Neil Woodford saga

The top four executives at Hargreaves Lansdown are to waive bonuses this year in the wake of the Woodford fund saga.

Hargeaves had a close relationship with Neil Woodford, strongly promoting his funds to millions of customers until the main fund, Equity Income, was suspended.

Until now, HL bosses had said only that they would delay bonus payments, a move which attracted strong criticism.

Chief executive Chris Hill is waiving his bonus, which was £1. 7 million last year.

Also waiving bonuses are Lee Guardhouse, the CIO, Philip Johnson, the CFO and Mark Dampier, the research director.

A source said: “Chris believes this is the right thing to do. He recognises the impact that the gating [of Woodford’s fund] has had on our clients. This demonstrates his and Hargreaves Lansdown’s continued focus on putting clients first.”

The Woodford affair has damaged Hargreaves’ reputation.

The suspension of the fund affected 290,000 of its customers.

The Equity fund, once £10 billion in size, fell to £3.7 billion before it was shuttered.

It will probably stay closed until December as the fund manager disposes of illiquid stocks, meaning savers cannot get their money.