Episode 17: Owen Walker

Owen Walker

Journalist, Financial Times European banking correspondent, CPFC, & author of Built on a Lie

You can also listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.

In this episode:

Abraham and Owen have an energetic discussion, diving into:

• Owen’s career and how he got into financial journalism

• Owen’s standout moment in his journalism career

• Owen’s book Built on a Lie: The Rise and Fall of Neil Woodford and the Fate of Middle England’s Money:

  • He unpacks the details of Neil Woodford’s early life and his downfall

  • The FCA loophole which existed which enabled Woodford

  • The wider lessons for investors

  • The role of journalists – were they a part in hyping up Woodford to be ‘the man who couldn’t stop making money’?

  • 2 years on and the questions that remain unanswered– was it really built on a lie?

  • Woodford’s comeback…

• And finally, how Owen is saving for his own retirement

Guest profile

Owen Walker is an award-winning business journalist, covering European banks for the Financial Times. He was previously asset management correspondent at the newspaper and his reporting on Neil Woodford's downfall led to the FT winning business and finance team of the year at the 2019 Society of Editors' Press Awards.

Owen also released Built on a Lie earlier this year, revealing the full story of Europe's biggest investment scandal in a decade.