Partners at Odey Asset Management said founder Crispin Odey will leave the firm after 13 women accused him of sexual assault.
The high-profile financier and his firm are at the center of a growing crisis after the Financial Times reported on Thursday that 13 women alleged Odey assaulted or sexually harassed them in various incidents over a 25-year period.
“Mr Crispin Oddie is leaving the partnership. From today he will no longer have any economic or personal involvement in the partnership,” Peter Martin, chief executive, and Michael Ede, chief financial and operating officer, wrote in a statement seen by the FT on Saturday.
They added that Odey Asset Management Group Limited, a holding company that is part of the group and majority owner of Odey, will also be removed as a member and that the partnership will now be owned and controlled by the remaining partners.
OAM, which manages $3.8 billion in assets in 2022, said it was “investigating the allegations regarding Mr Odey” but said it could not comment in detail for privacy reasons. It said “further communications” with customers would follow over the weekend.
Reached by phone at noon Saturday, Oddy confirmed he had been notified of the firm’s decision, but suggested he would fight it. “You have to have a willing buyer, a willing seller,” he said. He made no further comment.
A law firm representing Odey previously said the allegations against him were “seriously contested”. Oddy said this week that “none of the allegations have been substantiated in a courtroom or investigation.”
A former partner said of Odei: “The emperor no longer has clothes and is losing his strength. It’s so nice not to be there anymore. They had to get rid of him. He clearly has to go. In the end, the boss was pushed for going too far.
Oddie has been an important figure in the City of London for more than three decades. Since OAM’s inception in 1991, it has cultivated a reputation as a high-risk taker in the market, delivering huge returns as well as huge losses.
He has also donated large sums to the UK Conservative Party and the anti-immigration party Ukip, as well as to anti-EU pressure groups. In 2022, Audi benefited from sharp falls in the value of sterling after betting against the pound. Its flagship fund returned 152 percent in 2022.
Odey stepped down as co-CEO of the firm in November 2020, but remained the majority owner. In the same month, Brook Asset Management was formed and almost half of the firm’s funds, including those of star partners James Hanbury and Oliver Kelton, were rebranded as Brook.
Several major financial institutions had already cut ties with the firm in response to the FT’s reports.
Exane, which is owned by French bank BNP Paribas, told OAM on Thursday it was ending the relationship. Goldman Sachs began winding down its relationships, including with Brook Asset Management, on Friday.
The Financial Conduct Authority, which approves the management of financial services firms and investigates OAM, has been notified of the planned change of control at the company, a person familiar with the situation said. The FCA declined to comment.