Henry Blodget, the Wall Street analyst who shot to fame during the dot.com boom and provoked a backlash from small investors when the bubble burst, is to leave Merrill Lynch under the firm's voluntary redundancy programme.
The decision by the telegenic 35-year-old to bow out - and perhaps more tellingly the firm's acceptance of his application - reflect the reversal in the fortunes of the so-called new economy.
He is set for a pay-off of at least $2m on top of a salary deal last year of more than $7m, although he intends to remain in the internet world, writing a book for Random House about the bubble he helped to inflate.
"It's been surreal - both on the way up and the way down," he told Reuters. "My personal experience has been very different than the experience of this cartoon character that's been created called Henry Blodget. "
An aspiring journalist before he joined Wall Street, Mr Blodget earned a following among America's army of retail investors three years ago after his seemingly ludicrous prediction that Amazon.com's shares would more than double to $400. In the event his forecast proved too cautious.
The bullish stance by the then junior analyst at CIBC Oppenheimer won him the job of Merrill's internet analyst then held by Jonathan Cohen, who had been pessimistic about the online bookseller's prospects. Mr Blodget's numerous television appearances also helped him become a hot property. Credit Suisse First Boston was rumoured to have offered him a $7m signing-on deal which he turned down.
But, his star status - he was dubbed Elvis and King Blodget - was tarnished last year after dot.com companies started to go out of business. Merrill also agreed to pay $400,000 compensation to an investor, Debasas Kanjilal, who claimed Mr Blodget's buy recommendation on internet company Infospace had been influenced by the Wall Street firm's aim to win business from the company.
Mr Blodget said little about his decision to take up Merrill's offer of voluntary redundancy, which has been extended to its 60,000-plus staff worldwide, other than telling the New York Times that "it just seemed like a good time to pursue the next thing".
"One of the things that happened at the end of the bubble is people forgot what the downside was, and that's why a lot of people got hurt," he said. "If you go back to any period of time whenever markets have crashed, it is a messy affair."
In October 1999, he warned that only three-quarters of existing internet companies would survive and that between seven and 10 companies might end up dominating the sector.
He is the only high-profile Merrill Lynch employee to have admitted taking up the firm's redundancy offer, which is expected to result in 10,000 job cuts.
Merrill said Mr Blodget's decision to leave had been entirely his own and rejected accusations that his recommendations had turned sour.
"He's decided that he's done all that he wanted to do in research and is going finish his book before going to the buy-side [to be an investor]," a Merrill spokeswoman said. "Mr Blodget's integrity is beyond reproach."
She said the settlement this year had involved Mr Blodget's name being dropped from the suit. The firm settled to avoid the cost of the litigation.
The tips
AOL Rated a buy in March 1999 with a target of $110. Now part of Time Warner and trading at $37 a share
Yahoo Price target of $225. Trading yesterday at $15
Amazon.com Predicted to hit $400 when at $240. Trading yesterday at $9 (equivalent to $105 when adjusted for share splits)
Pets.com Tipped after opening at $11 on flotation. Failed in November 2000
Etoys Joined market in May 1999 at $20 a share. Failed
Ebay $175 target in February 2000 when at $134. Trading yesterday at $60
