Crispin Odey leaves Odey Asset Management after misconduct allegations | Business

One of the City’s most prominent hedge fund managers is leaving the investment firm he founded after numerous claims of sexual harassment.

Crispin Odey is leaving Odey Asset Management after allegations that he sexually assaulted or harassed 13 women. A legal firm representing the financier has said the allegations are “strenuously disputed”.

The Financial Times, together with Tortoise Media, published an investigation on Thursday with testimony from victims who said Odey had abused or harassed them between 1998 and 2021.

In a statement released on Saturday, the executive committee of Odey Asset Management said that Odey would “no longer have any economic or personal involvement in the partnership”.

The statement, which was signed by the firm’s chief executive, Peter Martin, and chief financial officer, Michael Ede, said the firm had investigated the allegations concerning Odey but “cannot comment in detail as it is bound by legal obligations of confidentiality”.

The statement said: “We, the executive committee of Odey Asset Management LLP, are announcing that Mr Crispin Odey is leaving the partnership.

“As from today, he will no longer have any economic or personal involvement in the partnership. Odey Asset Management Group Ltd will also cease to be a member and the partnership will now be owned and controlled by the remaining partners and managed as an independent legal entity.”

The executive committee said all allegations of misconduct were taken “extremely seriously”.

Odey, 64, is one of the best-known figures in the City of London, and has previously donated to the Conservative party.

He started donating regularly in 2007 and his total contributions to date are more than £350,000, according to public records examined by the Financial Times. He was also a prominent supporter of Brexit, contributing to groups campaigning for the UK to leave the EU.

The allegations against Odey have triggered a crisis for Odey Asset Management. The financial firms Canada Life and Schroders have said they are cutting ties with the partnership, and the investment banks Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are reviewing their relationships with the hedge fund.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that the Financial Conduct Authority was investigating the company over “non-financial misconduct”.

Odey Asset Management said on Saturdayyesterday that it had been “fully transparent with the regulator and kept them informed throughout this process”.