According to charges involving sexual misconduct, Crispin Odey, who is among the most well-known managers of hedge funds in Britain, is quitting Odey Asset Management, the company's executive committee announced on Saturday.
In a combined article published on Thursday, 13 women claimed that Odey had harassed or sexually assaulted them over 25 years. He disputes the charges.
Here are some essential details concerning Odey, his hedge firm in London, the claims, and the repercussions:
Who is Crispin Odey and waht is Odey Asset Management?
Odey, age 64, established his wealth management business in 1991. He contributes to the Conservative Party, which is in power in Britain, and is a prominent supporter of Brexit.
Odey Asset Management (OAM), which is noted for its highly leveraged wagers, trades in debt, global equities, commodities and currencies.
Kwasi Kwarteng, a former UK chancellor, had advised OAM.
What is Odey most well-known for?
Odey rose to fame during the financial crisis of 2008 when he earned a fortune by shorting banking stock, an investment strategy that includes betting on a stock's price declining.
What is the size of OAM?
In September 2022, filings submitted to the Commission on Securities and Exchanges revealed that the company was managing $4.8 billion total assets.
How is the performance of Odey's firm?
OAM is renowned for its unpredictable performance. Through Friday, its most popular fund - the Odey European fund, had lost around 8% of its value this year. That was down from its best-ever gain of over 151% in 2022, when the fund shorted UK government bonds.
What claims are made against Odey?
It was a restatement of an older piece, and neither an inquiry nor a court had found any evidence to support the charges.
In a separate investigation, FCA - the Financial Conduct Authority, a British regulator, has been looking into the firm since 2021, according to a source with familiarity of the case. In 2021, a British court found the fund manager not guilty of the alleged indecent assault.
How did OAM react?
Odey will be departing the asset management, the company's executive committee announced on Saturday.
A source with knowledge of the situation said that OAM intends to change the company's name.
In a letter issued June 8, OAM informed investors that it did not agree with the portrayal of the company in the media as a result of claims of sexual misbehavior by Odey.
Could OAM continue to exist without Odey?
Larger hedge funds, like the Odey Asset Management Group, are made up of numerous funds with various trading approaches.
Two persons with knowledge of the situation say that the Odey Asset Management without the previous figurehead might nonetheless handle most of the company's assets.
A number of portfolio managers, which includes James Hanbury as well as Peter Martin, CEO of Odey Asset Management, are in charge of the Odey Group.
According to two persons with knowledge of the situation, Odey was the only person responsible for managing the Odey European Inc fund, and the vast majority of its 151 million euros it had under control was his own investment capital.
What challenges will OAM face?
Several of Odey Asset Management's major brokers, such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, are reevaluating their relationships with the company.
A source with knowledge of the situation said on Saturday that Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are still reviewing their prime brokerships with OAM.
On Saturday, Morgan Stanley opted not to respond. The principal broker for OAM, UBS, did not answer right away.
The provision of trading services, betting leverage, and securities custody by prime brokers makes them essential to the operation of a hedge fund.
On Friday, Schroders Plc as well as Canada Life made a step to limit their interactions with asset management companies connected to Odey.