Bev Shah: Boutiques cannot afford to wait to become super tankers before addressing culture

No excuse for poor governance

Once again, we have seen some very public examples of when a firm is slow to recognise, and act upon, internal reports of toxic behaviours play out in the press.

I wrote in my column in Investment Week in March 2021 pondering how people outside the industry see us, and what we let our ‘gods' get away with? At the time I referenced several who have faced scandals saying: "Maybe they hear the stories of Messrs Woodford and Newman and think 'greed', or see the behaviours of Douglas Hodge and think 'crooks'. Do they hear of Odey's alleged offences and think 'dishonour'? The industry's relationship with the public is tenuous; infected by front-page scandals that we believe are the exception to the day-to-day behaviours we see in the industry."  S...