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WisdomTree faces new battle with largest shareholder
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WisdomTree’s largest shareholder has launched a new bid to oust its chief executive, pushing for a potential sale of the $107 billion asset manager and criticizing its recent push into decentralized finance.
Graham Tuckwell, chairman of ETFS Capital, which owns about 18 percent of WisdomTree, is urging investors to vote by proxy against the reappointment of founder and CEO Jonathan “Jono” Steinberg and two other board members at the next annual meeting of the company. tree of wisdomin response, insisted that “there is no reason to change” and asked shareholders to “not let Mr. Tuckwell derail our progress and hinder our success.”
The missives are the latest salvos in a conflict over the future of the company that has been brewing since early 2022. Tuckwell has had a strong interest in WisdomTree since 2018, when WisdomTree acquired the European arm of ETF Securities, an ETF specialist based in London and founded by Tuckwell in 2005.
Tuckwell said in a statement released Monday that he estimates WisdomTree is currently worth between $2.1 billion and $3 billion, well above its current market value of $1.4 billion — and called on the board to WisdomTree administration to hire a top investment bank to help it consider a sale of all. or part of the business.
“DeFi initiatives have been a massive distraction and completely unsuccessful in our view,” Tuckwell said in the release. letter to shareholders, calling on the asset manager to “hire a reputable banker and evaluate all options to unlock value as quickly as possible”.
Efforts that have drawn Tuckwell’s ire include the launch of the retail-focused digital wallet service WisdomTree Prime and the relatively weak debut of the manager’s spot bitcoin ETF in January. With approximately $69 million in assets, WisdomTree’s Bitcoin ETF is the second smallest of 11 such ETFs in the U.S. market. Tuckwell also asked WisdomTree to share performance data related to WisdomTree Prime and the Bitcoin ETF.
In A declaration In shareholder filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking relief, also dated May 6, WisdomTree reported that it has obtained more than $29 billion in net inflows since January 2021. The manager insisted that it was “laser focused” on its ETF business, which was the ninth largest in the U.S. as of April 30, according to Morningstar.
“We are enhancing the capabilities of WisdomTree Prime and plan to enable peer-to-peer transfers and payments in the coming quarters,” the WisdomTree letter said. “During the remainder of the year, we plan to gradually increase marketing and awareness of WisdomTree Prime.”
WisdomTree’s share price has increased approximately 4 percent since the ETF Securities transaction closed in April 2018although it is well below its mid-2015 highs.
In 2023, Tuckwell succeeded by removing the company’s veteran president, Frank Salerno. He is now seeking to remove current chairman Win Neuger, along with board member Anthony Bossone and Steinberg, who personally owns about 6 percent of the company.
The WisdomTree annual meeting is scheduled for June 12.