Artemis founder John Dodd will retire from the investment house at the end of this year after almost 40 years in the industry.

He is currently Artemis’ executive chairman.

Mr Dodd’s responsibilities will be shared among the current senior team. 

Senior partner Mark Murray said: “John was one of the founders of Artemis in 1997 and has played a huge part in the growth and success of the firm over the past 27 years.

“He has been a key figure in helping shape the Artemis business, which today has assets under management of £25bn. We are grateful for everything he has contributed to the management and governance of the firm since our formation.”

At Artemis Mr Dodd launched and managed for a decade the Artemis UK Smaller Companies Fund, which is now managed by Mark Niznik and William Tamworth.

He still retains one fund management role – as co-manager of the Artemis Alpha investment trust. The assets of the trust will be combined with those of the Aurora Investment Trust managed by Phoenix Asset Management Partners.

Separate to the proposal, which is subject to shareholder approval, Kartik Kumar – co-manager of Artemis Alpha and manager of the Artemis European Select Fund – has accepted an offer from Phoenix to join its investment management team later in the year.

Artemis plans to consult with investors in the Artemis European Select Fund on options for the fund. 

Mr Murray said: “In many ways this feels like the end of an era, but John will leave the business in great shape to thrive as an independent firm for many years to come.”

Artemis is an independent owner-managed fund manager, offering funds which invest in the UK, Europe, the US and around the world. The firm was launched in 1997. It is now a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) and currently has 25 individual partners – fund managers and other key individuals at the firm.