Minerd, a 57-year-old body-builder with a reputation for a volatile temper, told Walter that the move had unsettled employees and clients, said people familiar with the matter. Some of the people said Court received preferential treatment because of her close relationship with Walter.
Court’s attorney, Martin Singer, said her promotion had nothing to do with favoritism, but stemmed from her successful record building Guggenheim’s European business since 2010. She has brought “a disciplined, professional and efficient infrastructure” and has raised $20 billion of new assets since her April 2016 appointment to her current job, according to Singer, whose celebrity clients have included Bill Cosby, Charlie Sheen and Scarlett Johansson.
Unusual Step
Michael Sitrick, a Los Angeles-based public-relations executive representing Guggenheim, said of Walter and Court:
“There is no non-business relationship. But if there were, it was fully and promptly disclosed to the appropriate parties at Guggenheim, in accordance with established processes and procedures, which were then fully implemented, to avoid improper influence or favor.”
Court’s promotion was supported by senior management, Sitrick said. But in a January memo addressed to portfolio managers and senior executives and seen by Bloomberg, Walter called resistance to Court’s authority “pervasive” and “insubordinate.”
With tension rising, and word of the turmoil leaking out, Guggenheim’s board took the unusual step of issuing a firm-wide memo on Sept. 20.
“We issue this -- a unanimous statement of Guggenheim’s Board -- to set the record straight,” the memo said. The board “affirms full and complete support” for Walter and Minerd.
The memo continued: “The firm is thriving, growing, stable and strong.”
Walter, Minerd, Court and other Guggenheim executives declined to comment for this story.