Crispin Odey’s name is to be permanently removed from his eponymous £3.5bn hedge fund after he was forced out of the firm by its board over the weekend after allegations of sexual misconduct by him against junior female members of staff.
Peter Martin, the chief executive of Odey Asset Management (OAM), said it planned to announce a complete rebrand of the partnership in the near future. It is understood the Odey name will be completely stripped from the firm, which operates from a townhouse in Mayfair, as soon as this week.
Odey was ousted from the company, which he founded 32 years ago, following mounting pressure from investors and financial partners.
The multimillionaire Conservative donor has been accused of sexually abusing or harassing 13 women over decades, in a detailed investigation by the Financial Times and Tortoise Media. Odey denies the allegations.
“Acting in the best interest of our investors and our staff has been our primary concern over the past few days,” Martin said in a letter to investors. “As a result of the allegations in the FT, while acting in the best interest of Odey Asset Management on Saturday morning the executive committee took the decision to remove Mr Odey as a member of the partnership.
“By also removing Odey Asset Management Group Ltd from the partnership, the firm removed all of Mr Odey’s economic and personal involvement. This means that the partnership is now entirely unconnected to the Odey Group, which continues to be majority owned by Mr Odey.
Odey did not respond to requests for comment on his ejection from the fund or the forthcoming name change.
The company said Odey would be replaced as the firm’s main hedge manager by his deputy, Freddie Neave.
The firm denied reports it may be considering measures to restrict investors from pulling cash out of funds. A spokesperson for OAM said: “All funds are open today as per usual business and we’re not considering gating any funds.
However, the spokesperson said the company was considering closing the Odey Swan Fund, which was run by Odey.
