Kenneth Fisher
Born
Kenneth Lawrence Fisher

(1950-11-29) November 29, 1950[1]
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Alma materHumboldt State University
Occupation(s)Founder and executive chairman of Fisher Investments
SpouseSherrilyn Fisher
Children3
Parent
Websitewww.fisherinvestments.com

Kenneth Lawrence Fisher (born November 29, 1950) is an American billionaire investment analyst, author, and the founder and executive chairman of Fisher Investments, a fee-only financial adviser. Fisher's Forbes "Portfolio Strategy" column ran from 1984 to 2017, making him the longest continuously-running columnist in the magazine's history.[2] Fisher is now known for writing monthly, native language columns in international outlets.[3][4] Fisher has authored eleven books on investing, and research papers in the field of behavioral finance. As of August 2022, his net worth is estimated at US$5.1 billion.[1] In 2010, he was included in Investment Advisor magazine's "30 for 30" list of the 30 most influential people in the investment advisory business over the last 30 years.[5] As of December 2021, Fisher's firm managed $208 billion.[6]

Life and work

Kenneth Fisher was born in San Francisco, California, the son of influential stock investor Philip A. Fisher. Fisher was raised in San Mateo, California. As a 13-year-old, he earned $1.20 an hour picking fruit, sawing and fertilizing.[1] He dropped out of high school and went to Humboldt State University to study forestry, and graduated with an associate degree in economics in 1972.[7][1] Humboldt State recognized Fisher with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007.[8] In 2015, Fisher was appointed to the board of advisors of the Forbes School of Business at Ashford University.[9]

Over the past few decades, Fisher helped Fisher Investments become one of the largest independent money managers in the world.[10] Having started the firm in 1979 with $250, it would grow to over $100 billion in assets under management as of 2015.[11][12]

In 2007, Fisher and Thomas Grüner founded Grüner Fisher Investments in Germany.[13]

Fisher Investments

Fisher is founder and chairman of Fisher Investments, an independent money management firm.[14][15] He founded the firm in 1979, incorporated in 1986, then served as CEO until July 2016, when he was succeeded by long-time Fisher Investments employee Damian Ornani. Fisher remains active as the firm's executive chairman and co-chief investment officer.[16]

Investment research and philosophy

Fisher's theoretical work identifying and testing the price-to-sales ratio (PSR) is detailed in his 1984 Dow Jones book, Super Stocks. James O'Shaughnessy credits Fisher with being the first to define and use the PSR as a forecasting tool.[17] In Fisher's 2006 book, The Only Three Questions That Count, he states that the PSR is widely used and known, and no longer as useful as an indicator for undervalued stocks.[18]

According to The Guru Investor by John P. Reese and Jack M. Forehand, in the late 1990s, Fisher defined his investment philosophy after studying the stock returns and P/E Ratios between January 1976 and June 1995 of six investment categories: large-cap value, mid-cap value, small-cap value, large-cap growth, mid-cap growth, and small-cap growth.[19]

Small-cap value was not defined as an investing category until the late 1980s. Fisher Investments was among the institutional money managers offering small-cap value investing to clients in the late 1980s.[20]

Personal life

Fisher is married, with three adult sons, Nathan, Jesse and Clayton.[21] He lives in Dallas, Texas.[1] Nathan Fisher is the senior executive vice president of Fisher Investments 401(k) Solutions.[22]

Fisher's ongoing study of redwood ecology, particularly the emerging field of study of redwood canopies, grew from his childhood in San Mateo, California, near old redwood logging camps.[23] Fisher's personal library contains more than 3000 volumes of regional logging history.[24]

Columns, books and other media

Fisher is well-known for his investment columns, which currently run in the New York Post and 18 other countries. Fisher's Forbes 'Portfolio Strategy" column ran from 1984 to 2017.[4] Fisher also publishes regular YouTube videos answering common investor questions and appears on major US and international broadcast media, including Bloomberg TV, CNBC, CNBC India, CNBC Asia, CNN International and Fox News.[3]

Columns[25]
Country Publication Language
Australia The Australian English
Austria Trend German
Belgium La Libre French
Canada Globe and Mail English
China Caixin Chinese
Denmark Børsen Danish
France L’Opinion French
Germany Focus Money German
Hong Kong Hong Kong Economic Journal Chinese
Italy Il Sole 24 Ore Italian
Japan Diamond Weekly Japanese
Netherlands De Telegraaf Dutch
Singapore The Business Times English
South Korea Chosun Ilbo Korean
Spain El Economista Spanish
Switzerland Handelszeitung German
Taiwan Business Weekly Chinese
United Arab Emirates’ The National English
United Kingdom The Daily Telegraph English
US New York Post English

Fisher has authored eleven investing books, six of which were national best sellers:[1] Super Stocks (1984), The Wall Street Waltz (1987), 100 Minds that Made the Market (1993), The Only Three Questions That Count (2006), The Ten Roads to Riches (2008), How To Smell A Rat (2009), Debunkery (2010), Markets Never Forget (2011), Plan Your Prosperity (2012), The Little Book of Market Myths (2013), and Beat The Crowd (2015). The Only Three Questions That Still Count, The Ten Roads to Riches, How to Smell a Rat, and Debunkery were all New York Times bestsellers.

In 2015, Fisher released Beat the Crowd: How You Can Out-Invest the Herd by Thinking Differently.[26] In an interview with CNN Money, Fisher discusses how media hype around major economic events have already been priced into stock markets globally, and why investors are better served worrying about factors the market is ignoring.[27] Fisher released the Second Edition of The Only Three Questions That Count in April 2012, and the Second Edition of The Ten Roads to Riches in April 2017.

Books[28]
Title Year Publisher Pages ISBN Notes
Super Stocks 1984 Dow Jones-Irwin 256 978-0931133039
The Wall Street Waltz: 90 Visual Perspectives – Illustrated 1987 Contemporary Books 240 978-0931133046
100 Minds That Made the Market 1993 Business Classics 470 978-0931133015
The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Others Don't 2006 Wiley 840 978-0470074992 New York Times Bestseller
The Ten Roads to Riches: The Ways the Wealthy Got There (And How Your Can Too!) 2008 Wiley 272 978-0470285367 New York Times Bestseller
How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud 2009 Wiley 224 978-0470526538 New York Times Bestseller
Debunkery 2010 Wiley 240 978-0470285350 New York Times Bestseller
Markets Never Forget (But People Do): How Your Memory Is Costing Your Money—and Why This Time Isn't Different 2011 Wiley 240 978-1118091548
Plan Your Prosperity: The Only Retirement Guide You'll Ever Need, Starting Now – Whether You're 22, 52 or 82 2012 Wiley 192 978-1118431061
The Little Book of Market Myths: How to Profit by Avoiding the Investing Mistakes Everyone Else Makes 2013 Wiley 206 978-1118445013
Beat the Crowd 2015 Wiley 320 978-1118973059

Philanthropy

In 2006, Fisher gave $3.5 million to endow the Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology at Humboldt State.[29] The gift supports redwood ecology research in perpetuity and provides support for graduate students, laboratories, and field equipment; the research has focused particularly on canopy studies.[30] Fisher's goal in creating the chair was to transform our understanding of trees and forests.[30]

In 2012, Fisher and his wife gave $7.5 million to Johns Hopkins University to fund the new Sherrilyn and Ken Fisher Center for Environmental Infectious Diseases. After much deliberation, the Fishers’ donation was approved.[31]

Controversy

In October 2019, Fisher was criticized for references he made during a fireside chat at an industry conference sponsored by Tiburon Strategic Advisors.[32][33] Bloomberg initially reported that Fisher made references to genitalia and likened winning money-management clients to "trying to get into a girls' pants." In a Bloomberg interview at the time, Fisher said he felt his comment were taken out of context.[34] In February 2020, Bloomberg clarified their reporting and wrote that Fisher cautioned against using financial planning as a way to sign up new clients and compared it to approaching a woman at a bar. A recording made at the Tiburon conference, obtained by CNBC and referenced by Bloomberg, captures Fisher saying "you wouldn't go up to a woman in a bar and ask what's in your pants."[35]

On October 11, 2019, it was announced that in response to Fisher's comments, the state of Michigan withdrew its pension fund of $600 million from Fisher Investments.[36] On October 16, 2019, the city of Boston pulled their $248 million pension fund from Fisher Investments due to Fisher's off-color comments.[37]

Other repercussions followed. Fidelity announced it was reviewing the $500 million in assets that it has Fisher's organization manage, and Philadelphia's board of pensions terminated its relationship with Fisher. Within weeks of the incident Fisher Investments lost more than $2.7 billion as several institutional clients, including government pensions, severed their relationship with the firm.[38] The firm Fisher founded is taking action as well. Fisher Investments Chief Executive Damian Ornani wrote a memo to employees stating: “Ken's comments were wrong.” He said the firm was taking steps to address diversity and inclusion within the organization itself.[39] Reporting from Bloomberg L.P. contended that this behavior was commonplace at Fisher Investments and that Fisher himself had made derogatory remarks a number of times before.[40]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Forbes profile: Ken Fisher". Forbes. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Fisher, Ken (September 14, 2016). "My Best Advice - 32 Years in the Making". Forbes.
  3. 1 2 Marking, Marion (2022-08-12). "At Fisher Investments, the Chairman as Localization Champion". Slator. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  4. 1 2 Benguhe, Chris; Marsh, RaeAnne (2022-09-02). "Information As An Economic Power". International Business Times. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  5. ↑ "Thirty for Thirty". Think Advisor. 1 May 2000. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Pensions & Investments (October 17, 2022). "The P&I/Thinking Ahead Institute World 500: World's largest managers".
  7. ↑ "Shaking it Up," but Vernon Felton, Humboldt Stater, Fall, 2006.
  8. ↑ "Distinguished Alumni Hailed, Honored". Humboldt State University. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  9. ↑ "Forbes School of Business at Ashford University Appoints Eight Members to Its Board of Advisors". Forbes School of Business. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
  10. ↑ "The P&I/Towers Watson World 500: World's largest money managers". 2014-11-10. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
  11. ↑ Frankel, Matthew (2015-06-19). "3 Things to Learn from Ken Fisher's Net Worth -- The Motley Fool". Fool.com. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
  12. ↑ "Ken Fisher hits a milestone of $100 billion of AUM and $1 billion of revenues but faces a new challenge: How to grow a mature firm with competitors yapping at his heels". RIABiz. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  13. ↑ "OTS: Gruner Fisher Investments / Gruner Fisher Investments verhalten". Finanzen (in German). 5 August 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  14. ↑ Corvin, Aaron (21 June 2012). "Fisher Investments CEO heralds the singularity". The Columbian. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  15. ↑ Margaret Brennan & Ken Fisher (7 September 2010). Fisher Investments Ken Fisher Interview Expert (Television). Bloomberg Television.
  16. ↑ "Fisher Investments names Damian Ornani CEO as Ken Fisher relinquishes role". Investment News. March 22, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  17. ↑ O'Shaughnessy, James (2005). What Works On Wallstreet. McGraw Hill Professional. ISBN 9780071452250.
  18. ↑ Fisher, Kenneth L. (2012). The Only Three Questions That Still Count: Investing By Knowing What Others Don't. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-07499-2.
  19. ↑ Reese, John P.; Forehand, Jack M. (2009). The Guru Investor: How to Beat the Market Using History's Best Investment Strategies.
  20. ↑ Munk, Chelyl Winokur (1 November 2006). "The Heretic". Wealth Management. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  21. ↑ Fisher, Kenneth L. (2008). The Wall Street Waltz. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470267967.
  22. ↑ Iacurci, Greg (3 April 2018). "Fisher Investments growing fast in 401(k) market". Crain Communications. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  23. ↑ "Ken Fisher: a passion for local history". The Almanac. 29 October 2003. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  24. ↑ "Ken Fisher Chair to Take Redwood Ecology to New Heights". Newswise. 3 February 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  25. ↑ Benguhe, Chris; Marsh, RaeAnne (2022-09-02). "Information As An Economic Power". International Business Times. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  26. ↑ "Beat the Crowd | By Ken Fisher". beat-the-crowd.com. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
  27. ↑ Gillespie, Patrick (2015-04-22). "Billionaire investor Ken Fisher's advice". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
  28. ↑ "Ken Fisher | Author". www.kenfisher.com. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  29. ↑ "Humboldt State University". CalState.edu. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  30. 1 2 "The Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology". Humboldt State University. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  31. ↑ "Ken and Sherrilyn Fisher - Wall Street Donors Guide". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  32. ↑ Forbes, "Billionaire Ken Fisher Blasted Online After Offensive Comments At Closed-Door Fireside Chat", 9 Oct 2019
  33. ↑ Huffington Post, "CEO Calls Out Billionaire Ken Fisher's Remarks About Jeffrey Epstein, Genitalia" Oct 9, 2019
  34. ↑ "Billionaire Fisher Shocks With Sexual Remarks, Wonders Why". Bloomberg.com. 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  35. ↑ "A Sexist Joke Cost Ken Fisher $4 Billion in Assets. He Still Runs $121 Billion". Bloomberg.com. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  36. ↑ Washington Post, "Investment Firm whose Chairman made crude comments at summit loses $600 million in assets," 11 October 2019
  37. ↑ Leung, Shirley (2019-10-16). "City pulls $248m in pension money from firm after CEO's off-color comments on women". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  38. ↑ CBS, "Goldman Sachs is latest firm to pull money from Fisher Investments, total is now $2.7 billion," Oct, 24, 2019
  39. ↑ CNBC "Fidelity criticizes money manager Ken Fisher, who loses Philadelphia as a client", October 16, 2019 Accessed October 17, 2019
  40. ↑ Willmer, Sabrina (21 October 2019). "Inside Ken Fisher's Private Kingdom, Where Hardball Culture Reels in Billions". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved 21 October 2019.

Further reading

  • "Never Enough Fisher", by Anthony W. Haddad and Jonathan Bernard. Equities. September 2007.
  • "Uber-Fisher", by Anthony W. Haddad and Jonathan Bernard. Equities. May 2008.
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