With the latest offering from his hedge fund boutique Verrazzano, Rambourg's name has returned to the newsflow.
While it was only internal failings he was accused of which triggered the investigation, the hedge fund star had started to fall. He was then subsequently fined almost £300,000 by the Italian regulator for an entirely separate issue.
Reinstated as an analyst, it was clear Rambourg was dissatisfied with that lesser role, and he subsequently resigned from the group.
Gartmore, whose share price collapsed on the news that half of its stellar duo was under scrutiny by the then-FSA, faced a critical degree of key man risk with Rambourg and his ally Roger Guy running around a fifth of Gartmore assets.
Then primed for salvation by Henderson, the group was fortunate enough to have John Bennett to hand the assets to, and with the excellence of Richard Pease awaiting them with open arms, client detriment was well-mitigated and asset outflows were seemingly stemmed.
But while a very forgiving industry, one in which the regulator’s stamp of approval is good enough for most to listen to what a manager has to say, how difficult is it to resurrect a reputation once it’s been tarnished?
While one would hope that once cleared, any benefit of doubt is granted in their favour, and you could argue that in order for a manager to come back from a tainted perception, the level of due diligence would be such that any return needs to be on not just a clean sheet but one that is whiter than white.
Arguably following a break, knowing keen eyes will be on your return and perhaps with the cycnics awaiting your first trip-up, your idea, your process and intentions should be better than ever.
The industry will forgive, but it will never forget. Ultimately if you’re given the chance for redemption you’d better make sure you deliver the goods. It’s a whole lot easier to forgive someone (and perhaps eventually forget) if they are generating impressive numbers, which, given Rambourg's reputation and track record pre-investigation, he is very likely to under his new venture.
