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(Alliance News) - Barclays PLC is reportedly the latest bank to look at cutting ties with scandal-hit Odey Asset Management LLP following sexual misconduct allegations against the hedge fund's founder.
The lender – Odey Asset Management's corporate bank – is following the lead of JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley in moving to end its relationship with the investment firm, according to the Financial Times.
It comes as Odey Asset Management is battling to contain the fallout after the FT published a series of allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct against Crispin Odey, which he denies.
OAM has since parted ways with Odey and announced plans to rebrand the partnership, which will see his name removed from the hedge fund.
But the crisis engulfing the business has intensified, leaving it battling to keep afloat, with the group last week announcing that it is restructuring one of its oldest funds and revealing that one of its star fund managers is in talks to move his portfolio to a rival investment company.
Barclays is said to have informed the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, that it wants to cut its relationship with OAM, but such a process is likely to need to be carefully managed, as the bank administers the partnership's payrolls, among other vital services.
OAM declined to comment, while Barclays was not immediately available to comment.
OAM – which had around USD4.4 billion in assets under management before the crisis erupted – has already seen customers rushing to remove their money from the funds it manages.
It revealed last month that it is effectively being broken up after confirming talks to offload some of its activities and staff to other asset managers, but stopped short of saying it is being wound down.
The partnership had already moved to halt withdrawals from two of its funds and closed another amid the investor exodus.
It is also the subject of a two-year investigation launched by the FCA into corporate governance and other issues at the firm.
The Treasury Committee is set to quiz the FCA over how it has handled allegations of sexual misconduct against Odey and what action it has taken, with the regulator reported to have been privately investigating the business prior to the FT's report.
The watchdog was allegedly given a report of Odey's conduct in early 2021 after the firm took disciplinary action against him and has been asked by the committee to confirm if this is true.
Odey has denied the claims published in the FT last month, telling the paper they were "rubbish".
The newspaper – together with Tortoise Media – said it had spoken to 13 women who claimed they were abused or harassed by the 64-year-old fund manager.
The alleged incidents happened between 1998 and 2021 and involved women who had either worked for OAM or had professional dealings with Odey.
It was not the first time that people had made claims about Odey's behaviour.
In 2021 he was found not guilty in a court case in which he was accused of an indecent assault which allegedly happened in 1998.
Barclays shares were 1.6% higher at 155.86 pence each on Monday morning in London.
By Holly Williams, PA Business Editor
Press Association: Finance
source: PA
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