Kenneth Fisher
Kenneth Lawrence Fisher (born November 29, 1950) is an American billionaire investment analyst, author, and the founder and 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.[3] Fisher has authored eleven books on investing, and research papers in the field of behavioral finance. He is on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans[4] and as of 2020 is worth $4.3 billion.[2] In 2010, he was named to 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 September 2020, Fisher's firm managed $135 billion.[6]
Kenneth Fisher | |
---|---|
Born | Kenneth Lawrence Fisher November 29, 1950[1] |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Humboldt State University |
Occupation | Founder and chairman of Fisher Investments |
Net worth | US$4.3 billion (January 2020)[2] |
Spouse(s) | Married |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Philip A. Fisher (father) |
Website | www |
Life and work
Kenneth Fisher was born in San Francisco, California, the third and youngest son of Dorothy (née Whyte), from Arkansas, and influential stock investor Philip A. Fisher. Fisher was raised in San Mateo, California. He went to Humboldt State University to study forestry, but graduated with a degree in economics in 1972.[7] 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 has helped Fisher Investments become one of the largest independent money managers in the world.[10] He started his firm in 1979 with $250 and it has grown to over $100 billion in assets under management.[11][12]
In 2007, Fisher and Thomas Grüner founded Grüner Fisher Investments in Germany.[13] In 2009, Fisher received the inaugural Tiburon CEO Summit award for Challenging Conventional Wisdom. Fisher also has a Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Award for his research on market forecasting, which he published in 2000 with Meir Statman of Santa Clara University.[14]
In 2011, Fisher was ranked as one of the top 25 most influential figures in the financial industry by Investment Advisor Magazine.[15]
Fisher has three adult sons, Nathan, Jesse and Clayton.[16] Nathan Fisher is the senior executive vice president of Fisher Investments 401(k) Solutions.[17]
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.[18] 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.[19]
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.[20]
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.[21]
Books and other authorship
Fisher has authored eleven investing books: 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.[22] 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.[23] 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.
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 | |
The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Others Dont | 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 |
Fisher Investments
Fisher is founder and chairman of Fisher Investments, an independent money management firm.[25][26] He founded the firm in 1979, incorporated in 1986,[27] 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.[28]
Interests
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 ancient redwood logging camps.[29] Fisher's personal library contains more than 3000 volumes of regional logging history.[30]
In 2006, Fisher gave $3.5 million to endow the Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology at Humboldt State.[31] 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.[32] Fisher's goal in creating the chair was to transform our understanding of trees and forests.[32]
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, Fishers donation was approved.[33]
Controversy
In October 2019 Fisher came under criticism for crude sexual references he made during a fireside chat at a conference sponsored by Tiburon Security Advisors.[34][35] Fisher in his defense said his comments were misinterpreted and that he used references to genitalia and women to show how the art of wooing clients is similar to seduction.[36] On October 11, it was announced that in response to Fisher's sexually explicit and inappropriate comments, the state of Michigan has withdrawn its pension fund of $600 million dollars from Fisher Investments.[37] On October 16, 2019, the city of Boston pulled their $248 million in pension fund money from Fisher Investments and terminated their relationship due to Fisher's off-color comments.[38]
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.[39] 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 is taking steps to address diversity and inclusion within the organization itself.[40] 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.[41]
References
- "The World's Billionaires: #764 Ken Fisher". Forbes.
- "Forbes profile: Ken Fisher". forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- Fisher, Ken (September 14, 2016). "My Best Advice - 32 Years in the Making". forbes.com. Forbes.
- "The Richest People in America List - Forbes". Forbes. 21 November 2014. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- "Thirty for Thirty". Think Advisor. 1 May 2000. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- "Fisher Investments AUM".
- "Shaking it Up," but Vernon Felton, Humboldt Stater, Fall, 2006.
- "Distinguished Alumni Hailed, Honored". Humboldt State University. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
- "Forbes School of Business at Ashford University Appoints Eight Members to Its Board of Advisors". Forbes School of Business. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- "The P&I/Towers Watson World 500: World's largest money managers". 2014-11-10. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
- Frankel, Matthew (2015-06-19). "3 Things to Learn from Ken Fisher's Net Worth -- The Motley Fool". Fool.com. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
- "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.
- "OTS: Gruner Fisher Investments / Gruner Fisher Investments verhalten". Finanzen (in German). 5 August 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- Anderson, Aaron (2010). The Making of a Market Guru: Forbes Presents 25 Years of Ken Fisher. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470285428.
- McBride, Kathleen (4 May 2011). "Ken Fisher, Fisher Investments: The Extended 2011 IA 25 Profile". Think Advisor. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- Fisher, Kenneth L. (2008). The Wall Street Waltz. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470267967.
- Iacurci, Greg (3 April 2018). "Fisher Investments growing fast in 401(k) market". Crain Communications. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- O'Shaughnessy, James (2005). What Works On Wallstreet. McGraw Hill Professional. ISBN 9780071452250.
- 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.
- Reese, John P.; Forehand, Jack M. (2009). The Guru Investor: How to Beat the Market Using History's Best Investment Strategies.
- Munk, Chelyl Winokur (1 November 2006). "The Heretic". Wealth Management. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- "Beat the Crowd | By Ken Fisher". beat-the-crowd.com. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
- Gillespie, Patrick (2015-04-22). "Billionaire investor Ken Fisher's advice". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
- "Ken Fisher | Author". www.kenfisher.com. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
- Corvin, Aaron (21 June 2012). "Fisher Investments CEO heralds the singularity". The Columbian. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- Margaret Brennan & Ken Fisher (7 September 2010). Fisher Investments Ken Fisher Interview Expert (Television). Bloomberg Television.
- "Fisher Investments - CrunchBase". AOL Inc. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- "Fisher Investments names Damian Ornani CEO as Ken Fisher relinquishes role". Investment News. March 22, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- "Ken Fisher: a passion for local history". The Almanac. 29 October 2003. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- "Ken Fisher Chair to Take Redwood Ecology to New Heights". Newswise. 3 February 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- "Humboldt State University". CalState.edu. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- "The Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology". Humboldt State University. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- "Ken and Sherrilyn Fisher - Wall Street Donors Guide". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- Forbes, "Billionaire Ken Fisher Blasted Online After Offensive Comments At Closed-Door Fireside Chat", 9 Oct 2019
- Huffington Post, "CEO Calls Out Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Remarks About Jeffrey Epstein, Genitalia" Oct 9, 2019
- Los Angeles Times, "Billionaire Ken Fisher’s sexual comments offend at conference" Oct 9, 2019
- Washington Post, "Investment Firm whose Chairman made crude comments at summit loses $600 million in assets," 11 October 2019
- 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.
- CBS, "Goldman Sachs is latest firm to pull money from Fisher Investments, total is now $2.7 billion," Oct, 24, 2019
- CNBC "Fidelity criticizes money manager Ken Fisher, who loses Philadelphia as a client", October 16, 2019 Accessed October 17, 2019
- Willmer, Sabrina. "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.
External links
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