Ken Fisher Client Exodus Nears $1 Billion as Boston Divests
Fisher Investments is seeing a growing backlash since the firm’s founder made offensive comments about women.
(Bloomberg) -- The financial hit that Ken Fisher is taking is approaching $1 billion.
The city of Boston has joined two other government pensions in yanking money from Fisher Investments.
“Boston will not invest in companies led by people who treat women like commodities,” Mayor Martin Walsh said in a statement Wednesday. “Reports of Ken Fisher’s comments and poor judgment are incredibly disturbing.” The city’s pension board will pull $248 million.
Fisher Investments is seeing a growing backlash since the firm’s founder made offensive comments about women, spoke of genitalia and then failed to immediately understand the gravity of his words. The firm, which manages $112 billion, is also facing scrutiny from several other pension funds which are examining their business with Fisher.
The State of Michigan Retirement Fund’s pension account ended its relationship with Fisher’s firm, which managed $600 million for the state. The Philadelphia Board of Pensions also plans to divest $54 million in assets from Fisher.
Fisher Investments was managing about $10.9 billion on behalf of 36 state or municipal government entities, including pension plans, at the end of 2018, according to the firm’s Securities and Exchange Commission registration. That figure is down from $13.2 billion at the end of 2017.
Here are the reactions from pensions and firms.
| Name | Investment (in millions) | Divesting | Reviewing | No Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Retirement Fund | $600 | Yes | ||
| Boston Pension Board | 248 | Yes | ||
| Philadelphia Board of Pensions | 54 | Yes | ||
| Fidelity Investments | 500 | Yes | ||
| Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System | 386 | Yes | ||
| Florida Board of Administration | 175 | Yes | ||
| Haverhill, Mass., Retirement Board | 13 | Yes | ||
| Goldman Sachs Group Inc. | 676 | Yes | ||
| Employees Retirement System of Texas | 300 | Yes | ||
| Ohio Public Employees Retirement System | 839.5 | Yes |
Source: Bloomberg
Fisher made his comments during an appearance at the Tiburon CEO Summit, sparking the ire of those in attendance. Fisher has apologized as did the organizer of the event.
--With assistance from Miles Weiss, John Gittelsohn, Sridhar Natarajan and Annie Massa.
To contact the reporter on this story: Janet Lorin in New York at jlorin@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Mirabella at amirabella@bloomberg.net, Vincent Bielski
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