Fishwick to be hauled before MPs

Chris Fishwick, the director who resigned from Aberdeen Asset Management on Monday for his role in overseeing split-capital investment trusts, will be grilled by MPs over the disastrous performance of many funds in this sector.

The Treasury Select Committee last night confirmed it would call on Mr Fishwick to account for his role as one of the main architects of split caps when it holds its second meeting with Aberdeen later this month.

Mr Fishwick attracted criticism in July when he did not attend the first committee hearing. At that time Aberdeen's chief executive, Martin Gilbert, was described as a "snake-oil salesman" for his company's heavy involvement in splits.

Aberdeen manages 19 split caps, with Mr Fishwick sitting on the board of eight until his resignation. He was Aberdeen's highest paid director last year, collecting £1.8m. This year he has already received half of a £1.4m bonus and may collect the rest next year.

One institutional investor said: "Aberdeen now realises it was not a good idea not to send Chris along to the Treasury Select Committee." A spokesperson for Aberdeen said the company had not yet formally been invited to attend the hearing with MPs, but added: "If Chris is invited he will certainly be there."

Mr Fishwick offered his resignation to Aberdeen's board last week after becoming increasingly unhappy because of a barrage of negative press coverage in recent weeks. The company's board considered the offer and decided that it would be best for Mr Fishwick to go.

He had been retained as an employee of Aberdeen until the end of the year and will receive £350,000 in compensation.

The Treasury Select Committee has been very hostile to fund managers involved in split caps. The sector has slumped in value in the past 12 months, losing millions of pounds of -investors' money.

The group of MPs is also set to quiz Class Law, a firm of solicitors which is preparing on a joint legal case by thousands of investors who have been stung by split-cap problems.