Schroders, Canada Life cut ties with Odey after misconduct allegations

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Schroders Plc and Canada Life moved to cut back their dealings with the asset management businesses with links to Crispen Odey on Friday citing allegations of misconduct by the financier published by the Financial Times and Tortoise Media a day earlier.

Canada Life, an asset manager that oversees around 40 billion pounds ($50.2 billion) of client funds in the UK, said it had suspended relationships with Odey Wealth Management, a unit of Odey Group, with immediate effect.

"We've made a very quick and clear decision," the Canada Life spokesman said. "It shows the seriousness with which we see the situation."

Schroders, which oversees more than 700 billion pounds, said it had sold its remaining investments in Odey Asset Management (OAM).

Reuters contacted OAM as well as the wealth unit by email and telephone for comment on the investors' moves, but did not receive an immediate reply.

The Financial Times and Tortoise, in a joint publication on Thursday, reported allegations by 13 women that Crispin Odey, one of Britain's best-known hedge fund managers, had sexually assaulted or harassed them over a 25-year period.

Crispin Odey told Reuters on Thursday that the report was "a rehash of an old article and none of the allegations have been stood up in a courtroom or an investigation."

Odey Asset Management told investors in a letter dated June 8, and seen by Reuters, that the firm "does not recognise the picture of the firm that has been painted" by allegations of sexual misconduct by Crispin Odey published by media.

Some investors are paring back their relationships with Odey businesses as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are reviewing their prime broking relationships with OAM after the allegations, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Crispin Odey was cleared of indecent assault charges by a British court in 2021. British regulator the Financial Conduct Authority has been investigating Odey since 2021, a source familiar with the situation said.

($1 = 0.7971 pounds) (Reporting by Naomi Rovnick; additional reporting Nell Mackenzie; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Kirsten Donovan)