Trust industry chief heals split caps split
Daniel Godfrey, director general of the Association of Investment Trust Companies, apologised yesterday to his members for his handling of the split capital trust debacle.
In a speech to directors of investment trusts, Mr Godfrey offered a "sincere apology for any offence I gave, for the times when I may have spoken out of turn or gone too far".
He was one of the first industry experts to raise questions about some techniques used by split capital trusts during a public hearing by the Treasury select committee of MPs in 2002. At the time, his comments drew criticism from Aberdeen Asset Management, a major player in split capital trusts, and led to concerns by others that he was not defending the industry.
Without referring directly to those comments, Mr Godfrey defended his actions yesterday. "I am well aware that some of the things I said went down badly with some members of the industry. But the crisis is effectively over now and I want to make sure any ill-feeling is healed - and as quickly as possible," he said.
"We need to work together for the good of the industry. I do understand why some people could have been offended. I was doing my job of defending the industry's interests as a whole and I can accept that there were occasions when I could have said or done things better," Mr Godfrey said.
The losses caused to investors in split capital trusts prompted the largest inquiry ever by the Financial Services Authority and led to a Christmas Eve settlement with 18 firms, which contributed £194m to a compensation pot.