The Cost of Fisher’s Foot-in-Mouth: $2.6 Billion

October 25, 2019 | Headlines
https://dailyalts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/exit-97636-ken-fisher-fund-exits.png

Investors in Fisher Investments are heading for the exits after Ken Fisher’s lewd comments at a conference earlier this month.

The Employees Retirement System of Texas became the latest in a series of institutional investors to pull funds from Fisher Investments. The pension system is moving out $350 million in protest against Fisher’s sexist remarks against women at an October 8 conference.

Institutional investors punish Fisher Investments

To date, Fisher has lost over $2.6 billion in assets following the controversy. Significantly, the departing accounts include seven government pensions.

Plan USD-Million
Boston Investments 248
Iowa PERS 386
LA Fire and Police 522
Michigan Investment Board 600
New Hampshire RS 239
Philadelphia Pensions 54
Texas ERS 350
Goldman Sachs 234
2633

 

“Texas ERS has completed its due diligence,” said Mary Jane Wardlow, a spokeswoman for the Employees Retirement System of Texas. “With respect to our fiduciary duty, we are defunding Fisher Investments, which had served as an external manager in the international equities portfolio with $350 million [as of Sept. 30] under management,” she wrote in an email to CNBC.

However, as of September 30, 2019, Fisher Investments had $112 billion in assets under management.

CNBC has recorded evidence of Fisher’s offensive remarks

CNBC has recordings of Ken Fisher’s remarks at the October 8 conference and a previous one in 2018. Here’s one sample:

“I mean the, the most stupid thing you can do, which is what every mutual fund firm in the world always did, was to brag about performance, uh, in, in a direct mail piece, which is a little bit like walking into a bar if you’re a single guy, and you want to get laid and walking up to some girl and saying, ‘Hey, you want to have sex?”

Meanwhile, Fisher, 68, has apologized. “Some of the words and phrases I used during a recent conference to make certain points were clearly wrong, and I shouldn’t have made them,” Fisher said in a statement. “I realize this kind of language has no place in our company or industry. I sincerely apologize.”

But it may not be enough to stem the tide.

[Related Story: Private equity is the top gainer for the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS)]

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