Odey Asset Management strikes to interrupt itself up as disaster deepens
T
he scandal-hit hedge fund arrange by Crispin Odey is being damaged up because it confirmed talks to switch a few of its funds to rival companies amid an intensifying disaster following sexual misconduct allegations towards its founder.
Odey Asset Management (OAM) mentioned in a letter to purchasers that it was “in advanced discussions” to dump a few of its actions and workers to different asset managers.
It is reportedly affecting nearly all of its 4.4 billion US {dollars} (£5.3 billion) in belongings underneath administration.
It comes because the group has been battling to include the fallout after the Financial Times revealed a sequence of allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct towards Mr Odey, which he denies.
It has … change into clear that some funding administration actions of the partnership are affected by current occasions
OAM has since damaged a few of its ties with Mr Odey, saying on Saturday that he’ll “no longer have any economic or personal involvement in the partnership”.
It additionally introduced plans to rebrand the partnership, which can see Mr Odey’s title faraway from the hedge fund.
But the disaster has already led to clients dashing to take away their cash from the funds that Odey manages and corporations that present important providers to OAM have moved to sever ties.
OAM had already moved to halt withdrawals from two of its funds and closed one other amid the investor exodus, whereas it emerged that JP Morgan Chase had given discover to finish its relationship with the agency, following the lead of Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Exane final week.
In a letter despatched to traders on Wednesday, OAM mentioned: “We have been, and remain, in constructive dialogue with our service providers and key counterparties.
“It has, however, become clear that some investment management activities of the partnership are affected by recent events.
“Given that, the firm is now in advanced discussions for rehousing funds and transferring certain fund management activities and individuals to other asset managers.
“Any sale or rehousing is considered subject, of course, to any relevant regulatory approvals and due diligence, with a view to an orderly transition of any assets and investors.
“The fund boards and managers are also appraised and supportive of this approach.”
Acting in the perfect curiosity of our traders and our workers has continued to be our main concern over the previous few days
The enterprise added: “Acting in the best interest of our investors and our staff has continued to be our primary concern over the past few days.”
Mr Odey has denied the allegations revealed within the FT final week, telling the paper they’re “rubbish”.
The newspaper – along with Tortoise Media – mentioned final week that it had spoken to 13 girls who claimed they had been abused or harassed by the 64-year-old fund supervisor.
The alleged incidents occurred between 1998 and 2021 and concerned girls who had both labored for Odey Asset Management or had skilled dealings with Mr Odey.
It was not the primary time that individuals had made claims about Mr Odey’s behaviour.
In 2021 he was discovered not responsible in a courtroom case by which he was accused of an indecent assault which allegedly occurred in 1998.
The Treasury committee is ready to quiz the UK’s monetary regulator over the way it has dealt with allegations of sexual misconduct towards Mr Odey and what motion it has taken, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reported to have been privately investigating the enterprise previous to the FT’s report.
The watchdog was reportedly given a report of Mr Odey’s conduct in early 2021 after the agency took disciplinary motion towards him and has been requested by the committee to verify if that is true.