Robert Soros is stepping down from his father's legendary fund to start his own venture

AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

Robert Soros, the eldest son of George Soros, is stepping down as deputy chairman and president of Soros Fund Management.

Soros, 53, who will remain an owner at the firm, will set up Soros Capital to look at illiquid investments, including venture capital, a spokesman said.

Robert Soros announced his departure in a note to colleagues Monday morning, June 26. He wrote that he wished "to pursue my own interests more directly through the creation of Soros Capital. Dawn Fitzpatrick is providing solid leadership to the investment team and I have enormous confidence in David Milich, who will assume many of my day-to-day responsibilities."

Milich joined the fund four years ago as chief operating officer and Fitzpatrick became the firm's chief investment officer earlier this year.

In a statement, George Soros said that his son "has done an outstanding job in preparing [Soros Fund Management] for its next phase. I look forward to his continued involvement and wish him the greatest success in his personal ventures.”

George Soros, the Hungarian-born founder of Soros Fund Management, known as the man who 'broke the Bank of England' by shorting billions of pounds in 1992, promoted Robert as chief investment officer in 2004 after the investment firm suffered churn in its top ranks.

Robert, a literature graduate, stepped down from the role in 2006 and stopped trading for the fund around five years ago but continued to manage his own money.

Soros Fund Management recently boosted its stake in Goldman Sachs Group by nearly 40 percent during the first quarter and bought shares in Snapchat's parent, Snap Inc.

 

NOW WATCH: A $16B hedge fund CIO explains what it takes to work at a hedge fund today