Artemis 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 £25 billion. We are grateful for everything he has contributed to the management and governance of the firm since our formation.

“John will leave Artemis in a great position to continue to deliver excellent investment performance and service for our clients.

“We would like to thank John for everything he has done during his time at Artemis and wish him the very best for a well-deserved retirement when the time comes.”

At Artemis, Dodd launched and managed for a decade the successful Artemis UK Smaller Companies strategy — now managed by Mark Niznik and William Tamworth. He still retains one fund management role — as co-manager of the Artemis Alpha Investment Trust.

Plans have been announced to combine the assets of this trust with those of the Aurora Investment Trust managed by Phoenix Asset Management Partners.

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

“Artemis plans to consult with investors in the Artemis European Select strategy on options.”

Murray added: “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 owned by its UK-based management team and Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), an American international investment management company headquartered in Massachusetts.