Sophia Whitbread, the only female fund manager at hedge fund firm Odey Asset Management (Odey AM), which collapsed last year following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against its founder, Crispin Odey, has joined fund group Ninety One, according to a report by Financial News.
Whitbread, who joined Odey AM in June 2021 from Newton Investment Management, helped launch the firm’s emerging markets subsidiary Brook Asset Management.
The report cites a spokesperson for Ninety One as confirming that Whitbread, who took control of the Brook Global Emerging Markets fund in June 2022 following the departure of Rob Marshall-Lee, joined the London and Cape Town-based firm earlier this month as a Global Financials Analyst.
Several Odey AM funds, including those run by James Hanbury and Oliver Kelton, found new homes at rival boutiques in the City, but dwindling assets saw Whitbread’s strategy liquidated despite a 5% gain in the weeks after the accusations against Odey emerged in June 2023.
