Maverick executes stylish exit

Florian Homm’s highly public exit from Absolute Capital Management was executed in the style with which he managed the hedge funds at the company he co-founded: he issued a press release, copying it to the board.

Mr Homm is a larger-than-life version of the hedge fund archetype, and not just because he is 6ft 6in. A specialist in the world of small companies, an expert in German business, twice fined by German financial regulators and a serial entrepreneur, Mr Homm chose Majorca as his base.

“He’s a maverick,” says a former investor. “He’s very much a solo operator.”

Last year, he added to his public image when he was shot in Venezuela. Observers assumed at first that he had had a run-in with a client or competitor. In fact, as AbCap told investors, he was the victim of a botched robbery. This did not stop him returning to work within weeks.

His skill was in picking smaller companies, often taking big stakes in names such as Borussia Dortmund, the German football club. Over time it has paid off for investors.