The U.K.’s famous stock picker Neil Woodford is out… and his fund is closing.

Neil Woodford is out as manager of the fund he founded. And now, the fund will shut down. Fund administrators closed the fund and said it was not in the best interest of investors to keep it open. Due to financial regulations, investors will not receive their capital back until mid-January 2020.

The news comes months after regulators suspended the fund, a decision that froze assets in place. In addition, the fund saw the departure of multiple leaders.

The fund’s authorized corporate director Link Fund Solutions said it’s making progress on selling the fund’s unlisted and less liquid assets.

Shaking the Industry to the Core

Funds Europe reached out to Adrian Lowcock, head of personal investing at Willis Owen.

Lowcock compared the collapse of Neil Woodford and his fund to another famous implosion.

“This collapse is on a par with the implosion of New Star at the height of the financial crisis, and it will shake the funds’ industry to its core,” he said.

Lowcock went on to suggest that investors will face “significant losses” even as they wait for the firm to divest those assets. He also defended the decision to shutter the fund.

“The decision to close the company is, unfortunately, the right one as it will put a stop to the inevitable speculation,” Lowcock said.  “Investors money is ring-fenced and will remain invested in the respective funds and in the underlying investments.”