Executives at Odey Asset Management had been preventing to stabilise the agency after brokers Goldman Sachs and Exane and asset supervisor Schroders cut ties within the wake of sexual assault allegations towards founder Crispin Odey.
The exodus got here because the hedge fund instructed shoppers it was “confident that our service providers will continue to work with us” after 13 ladies instructed the Financial Times that Odey had harassed or assaulted them.
The most up-to-date alleged sexual assault came about in December 2021 when a feminine acquaintance of Odey mentioned she was violently groped by him after a cocktail party at his Gloucestershire mansion.
The FT investigation additionally discovered that companions at Odey Asset Management had been conscious of his alleged mistreatment of ladies way back to 2004 when a receptionist resigned and initiated a authorized criticism towards the agency. When the chief committee ultimately issued a ultimate written warning to Odey in 2021, he fired the committee.
A regulation agency representing Odey mentioned allegations made towards him had been “strenuously disputed”.
Goldman Sachs has begun unwinding its relationship with Odey Asset Management, together with Brook Asset Management, folks acquainted with the state of affairs mentioned on Friday. Goldman, which on Thursday evening mentioned it was “reviewing” the connection, declined to remark.
Brook Asset Management is a subsidiary arrange in November 2020 that runs nearly half of the agency’s funds, together with these by companions James Hanbury and Oliver Kelton.
Exane, which is owned by French financial institution BNP Paribas, instructed Odey Asset Management on Thursday evening that it was terminating the connection, in accordance with folks with information of the event. Exane declined to remark.
Morgan Stanley had already moved to finish its enterprise with Odey. JPMorgan is reviewing its relationship, which incorporates custody and prime broking.
Regulators had been additionally being saved abreast of the evolution of the agency’s relationships with prime brokers, an individual acquainted with the state of affairs mentioned.
Prime brokers are necessary to hedge funds, offering them with credit score to facilitate their buying and selling and promoting derivatives that enable them to handle danger.
An individual acquainted with the Financial Conduct Authority’s processes mentioned the regulator would possibly ask that one prime dealer retained ties with the hedge fund in order that it may run its enterprise in an orderly means. The FCA declined to remark.
Meanwhile, Schroders has cut ties with Odey Asset Management by promoting investments run by the fund supervisor. UK-based Schroders mentioned on Friday that it had offered its remaining investments in Odey’s Swan fund, which Schroders held in two of its multi-manager merchandise.
Schroders had been promoting down its publicity to Odey Swan over the previous couple of months, however fully offloaded the place over the previous 24 hours, in accordance with one individual acquainted with the state of affairs.
Schroders mentioned it was “not invested in Odey Asset Management”.
Odey Asset Management declined to touch upon the opposite corporations’ choices. Brook Asset Management didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The agency additionally faces a widening probe by the FCA, which opened an investigation two years in the past into potential “non-financial misconduct” on the firm.
In an announcement to shoppers, the agency’s chief government Peter Martin mentioned that the “various allegations” had been being “looked into” by the agency’s legal professionals and that it “treats, now and in the past, all such allegations extremely seriously”.
Crispin Odey on Thursday instructed Reuters that Morgan Stanley’s transfer was “a massively quick reaction to an allegation by the FT”, including that “none of the allegations have been stood up in a courtroom or an investigation”.
Additional reporting by Antonia Cundy and Paul Caruana Galizia