Jim Armitage: Board of directors are far too Patient with ailing guru

Sometimes what you don’t say is more important than what you do.

At first blush, today’s statement from the board of Neil Woodford’s Patient Capital Trust seems a prime example.

While pointing out the bland and obvious truths that Woodford’s woes do not affect the day-to-day operations of the companies Patient Capital is invested in, or that directors have been “in regular dialogue” with him since last week’s implosion, it notably fails to endorse him, or even refer to him by name.

Clearly, the reader thinks, the board is paving the way for a condemnation of the man, with a potential ousting of him as asset manager on the cards, just as St James’s Place and Openwork have done.

But then you think of how this group of directors have behaved throughout this fiasco and you begin to doubt it.

In short, they stood by as he ratcheted up the percentage of risky, unquoted investments in the Patient portfolio, did nothing as it racked up debts and stayed mute as he wriggled through the loopholes on liquidity rules by pitching its unsellable assets onto the Guernsey exchange.

Now Patient Capital’s shares have collapsed and are worth a third less than the purported value of its investments.

So while one might hope the failure to express any support for Woodford is a sign that the board may finally start holding him to account, you have to doubt it.

After all, since a whiffy asset swap in March (to which Patient’s board obediently complied), Woodford’s Equity Income fund is now a top three Patient Capital shareholder.

It seems likely that, true to form, the directors won’t just say nothing, they’ll do nothing as well.