Crispin Odey to leave hedge fund after sexual misconduct claims, partners say

Crispin Odey, who founded Odey Asset Management in 1991, strenuously denies the claims

Partners at a prominent finance firm have said its founder, Crispin Odey, is leaving after sexual assault and harassment allegations.

His exit follows a Financial Times report that 13 women had accused Mr Odey of misconduct over 25 years.

Mr Odey has strenuously denied the claims and hinted that he could resist his ousting from the firm.

Odey Asset Management said that it took allegations of misconduct "extremely seriously".

Mr Odey had been at the helm of the hedge fund he founded in 1991 which, at its peak, managed more than £10bn worth of investments.

Mr Odey, a prominent Brexit backer, claimed to have made hundreds of millions of pounds as sterling plummeted in the aftermath of the referendum vote.

On Thursday, the Financial Times reported that the allegations dated back to 1998 and the latest alleged incident was in December 2021.

At the weekend, it emerged that there would now be a separation between Odey Asset Management Group - which Mr Odey had a majority stake in - and Odey Asset Management LLP or the "partnership".

The partnership's executive committee said it has removed Mr Odey as a partner and added: "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."

It added that Mr Odey's main hedge fund will be run by co-manager Freddie Neave.

Mr Odey said that "none of the allegations have been stood up in a courtroom or an investigation".

Speaking to the Financial Times on Saturday, he also suggested he could fight the firm's decision. "You have to have [a] willing buyer, willing seller," he told the paper.

The executive committee said the firm's policies and procedures "have been followed at all times".

"The firm has been investigating allegations concerning Mr Odey, but the firm cannot comment in detail as it is bound by legal obligations of confidentiality."

Odey Asset Management said it had been "fully transparent" with the regulator Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and would contact clients over the weekend.

Odey Asset Management LLP will also undergo a "complete rebrand of the Partnership in the near future", the firm said.