Investors with policies still languishing in Equitable Life funds may not have to stay put in order to receive compensation, according to a lawyer involved in the case.

The ombudsman recommended this week that compensation be paid to Equitable Life policyholders who may have lost money as a result of the government’s maladministration of the company from 1991 to 2001, though she stopped short of saying how much should be paid and to whom.