By Michelle McGagh originally published 24 December 2009

Former Shepherds Select director Jeremy Leach has denied he was involved in the investment strategy behind the life settlement fund, which collapsed four years ago.

As reported by New Model Adviser® yesterday, the liquidator of the Shepherds Select fund PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said it is preparing to sue the founder of the company Mike Abraham and managing director Leach for breaching their duty to investors in an attempt to recover money for investors.

PwC plans to file a case in the Isle of Man High Court but Leach said he has yet to receive official notification about the case. He said he would welcome the opportunity to put forward his case in court.

‘I have yet to receive any official notification about this case but I welcome it because I hope it will finally force out the truth regarding all of the parties involved,’ said Leach.

In a statement sent to New Model Adviser® Leach defended his position at the firm and said he did not deal with Mutual Benefits Corporation (MBC) – the collapsed broker which supplied the fractional traded life and endowment policies for the $46 million Shepherds funds.

‘By the time I joined Shepherds Select Funds’ manager Shepherds Investments Limited as managing director in September 2003, SSF had already been in existence around 16 months,’ said Leach.

‘I was not involved in the establishment of SSF or its investment strategy of purchasing fractional policies from MBC. I acted responsibly as a director of SSF but this case demonstrates the reputational risk I took by remaining on the board during its troubled period.’

Mike Abraham said he could not comment as he had not received notification from either the court or PwC.

Published on 11 Jan 2010 at 10:50 pm