Sir Paul Ruddock to leave Lansdowne

Sir Paul Ruddock, one of the world's best-known hedge fund managers, is to step down from Lansdowne Partners later this year. The 54-year-old, who co-founded the company with Steven Heinz in 1998, will leave in June to focus on his work in the arts and on charity work.

Lansdowne manages $12.4bn (£8.2bn) of money. Its main fund, the $8.9bn Developed Markets fund, returned 18 per cent last year, and is up more than 7.5 per cent so far this year.

Sir Paul, who is chairman of the Victoria & Albert museum, received a knighthood for services to the arts and philanthropy last year. He will remain as a significant shareholder in Lansdowne, the company said in a statement.

"The firm is at a very good place," he said. "The amount of assets are stable and we've had very little turnover in staff. Clearly, if I didn't feel that, I wouldn't be stepping down."

The hedge fund, one of Europe's oldest, is a significant investor in Coca-Cola and Manchester United.

According to reports, Sir Paul's wealth is estimated to be about £270m, He is believed to have donated £570,000 to the Conservative Party between 2003 and 2011.