Odey Asset Management has named a successor to longstanding CEO Tim Pearey and shaken up its executive team following another senior departure.
In a letter addressed to clients on 20 June seen by Portfolio Adviser, founder Crispin Odey announced Peter Martin and Michael Ede would be joining him on the executive committee pending regulatory approval.
Martin is to take over as CEO of Odey’s eponymous boutique. He has been with the London hedge fund firm since 2009 and currently manages the £129.4m LF Odey Portfolio. Previously he was CIO UK at Rothschild Private Bank and Trust.
Ede has stepped up to become joint CFO/COO. A former Deloitte accountant, he joined Odey AM in 2013 and became CFO in 2018.
He replaces current COO Tom Richards, who leaves Odey AM at the end of the month after 12 years.
“We are very sad to be saying goodbye to him and we thank him for his huge contribution to the firm,” Odey wrote.
Richards is the latest member of the C-suite to jump ship.
In addition to Pearey, who resigned after two decades in March, chairman David Fletcher also relinquished his post last July.
This is on top of a number of senior partners exiting, including portfolio managers Rob Marshall-Lee and Tim Bond.
Also leaving the executive committee is Oliver Kelton, who will step back to concentrate on his fund management duties.
He is currently lead manager on the LF Brook Continental European and Brook European Focus Absolute Return funds, part of Odey AM’s subsidiary business.
Odey ‘very excited’ about the future
In his letter, Odey said it had been an exciting time for the business, with the funds stable performing well amid difficult markets and moves up in interest rates.
He singled out Sophia Whitbread and Mathieu Rachmaninoff, who took over the Brook Emerging Market fund from Marshall-Lee, for their top-decile performance one year since the fund’s launch.
Odey’s own flagship European fund has also enjoyed a massive comeback, propelled by his bets against long-dated government bonds.
“At the start of the year, I wrote to you to remind you that I founded Odey in 1991 to challenge the investment industry,” he stated.
“I now feel this even more keenly, as investment management houses are now too big and processed to adapt to the changes in world economies. All of us here at Odey are very excited about the future.”
