Jesper Kirstein, the high-profile chief executive officer of consultancy Kirstein, announced this morning he has decided to close down the Copenhagen-based financial firm that he founded almost 30 years ago, for health reasons.

In a post on LinkedIn, the CEO said he had been in dialogue with leading members of staff at Kirstein about the possibility of a management buyout, but said they had decided to pursue other career options, considering the circumstances.

Jesper Kirstein said in a statement: “Thank you to all who I have worked with. It has been an amazing journey which has given me many fantastic experiences and I am deeply grateful for that.”

Kirstein said the reason he was closing his consultancy was that his health had been “bad for some time,” and that his doctors had strongly advised him to stop working.

In response to the news, Swedish pensions and investment expert Mats Langensjö told Kirstein on LinkedIn: “You have been a true ground-breaking professional. Sometimes controversial, but you and your colleagues have moved the fund management industry in the Nordics and your contribution to the market has been important.”

Kirstein’s consultancy spun off part of the business in 2017 under the name Spektrum, and a year ago, Jesper Kirstein then sold his 72% stake in the business to larger local player Secure Fondsmæglerselskab. At the time, he told IPE he had no plans to retire on the proceeds of the sale.

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