Partners of Crispin O’Day’s hedge fund bid to oust him

Partners at Crispin O’Day’s eponymous hedge fund firm have made a bid to oust him as the company turns away from its founder in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against him.

The high-profile financier and his firm have been at the center of a growing crisis after the Financial Times reported on Thursday that 13 women had alleged that O’Day sexually assaulted or harassed them in various incidents over a 25-year period.

A person familiar with the situation told the FT that O’Day’s other partners are looking to buy out their controlling stake in the company.

Reached by phone on Saturday lunchtime, O’Day confirmed he had been notified of the firm’s intention, but suggested he would fight it. “You have to have (a) willing buyer, willing seller,” he said. He did not provide additional comment.

A former companion said of Ode: “The Emperor has no clothes now and is losing his powers. It is too good to be no more.

He said: “They had to get rid of him. He clearly has to go. In the end the boss was shocked because he went too far.

Oday Asset Management could not be reached for comment.

O’Day stepped down as co-CEO of the firm in November, 2020, but remains the majority owner. In the same month, Brooke Asset Management was established and about half of the firm’s funds, including those of star partners James Hanbury and Oliver Kelton, were rebranded under the Brooke name.

Several large financial institutions had already moved to sever ties with the firm in response to the FT’s reporting.

Axen, owned by French bank BNP Paribas, told ODE Asset Management on Thursday it was ending the relationship. Goldman Sachs on Friday began unwinding its relationships, including Brook Asset Management.

The last time O’Day’s executive committee attempted to discipline him for his behavior toward women, they fired him in 2021 when he broke a “final written warning” preventing him from behaving inappropriately with female employees.

The new Executive Committee consists of Peter Martin, Chief Executive, and Michael Edd, Chief Financial and Operating Officer.

According to the former partner, O’Day’s removal from the firm he founded would be complicated because of its “complex structure” with multiple holding companies within the group that are legally intertwined. Back office, legal, compliance and marketing departments are shared.