Partners at Odey Asset Management are in the process of ‘rehousing’ funds at other asset managers after a number of its brokers and custodians cut ties with the hedge fund.
In a letter to investors this morning (June 15), the firm said it had become clear that some investment management activities of the partnership are “affected by recent events”.
Investors have been pulling money from funds run by a subsidiary of Odey, Brook Asset Management, after the FT published allegations of sexual assault and harrassment against its founder, Crispin Odey.
Two Brook funds suspended dealing earlier this week after a high number of redemption requests, and Odey’s Swan fund was closed.
The partners said today that the firm is in “advanced discussions” for rehousing funds and transferring certain fund management activities and individuals “to other asset managers”.
Any sale or rehousing is subject to regulatory approval.
Companies such as JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have all served notice on their relationship with the asset manager, raising questions about the future of its funds.
The partners said they have been, and remain, in “constructive dialogue” with its service providers and counterparties.
Treasury Committee
MPs have asked the Financial Conduct Authority to explain its investigation into Odey Asset Management after “deeply troubling” allegations were made against its founder.
Harriet Baldwin, chairperson of the Treasury Committee, wrote to Nikhil Rathi, the chief executive of the FCA, yesterday (June 15) demanding information about the regulator’s supervision and engagement with the firm.
“Culture in financial services, and the experiences of women in the industry, have been ongoing concerns of the Treasury Committee,” Baldwin said.
“The FT paints a deeply negative picture of one powerful individual’s conduct regarding those two committee priorities and is potentially damaging to the reputation of the entire sector.”
Thirteen women told the FT they were the victims of sexual assault and harrassment by Crispin Odey, who denies the allegations.
Baldwin asked the FCA a number of questions about how it engaged and supervised Odey Asset Management, including details about whether it had received any reports about Odey’s behaviour before they came to light in the press, and how much of its engagement has been driven in particular by the FT’s article.
Odey Asset Management gave the FCA an internal report in 2021 that said Odey had behaved inappropriately with female staff, according to the FT, which prompted the FCA to open an investigation into the firm.
Later that year, when Odey’s executive committee attempted to discipline Odey over further allegations of his behaviour towards women in the firm, Odey fired the committee.
Baldwin asked the FCA whether it was told of these concerns, as well as the steps the FCA took to ascertain what happened, and whether this raised warning flags for the regulator at the time.
sally.hickey@ft.com
