Fisher Investments' Background & Structure

Fisher Investments’ Background

Ken Fisher founded Fisher Investments as a sole proprietorship in 1979, acting on his fundamental belief in capitalism. Since inception, Fisher Investments has made significant contributions to several areas of investment management through its original research and development of capital markets technology.

In the early 1980s, Ken Fisher pioneered the use of the Price-to-Sales Ratio and detailed its relevance as a tool for investment analysis. Later, this tool was used to help manage small capitalization portfolios for institutional investors. In the mid-1980s, the firm contributed to the delineation of the small cap value equity asset class and explained its relevance to investors.

In 1984, Ken Fisher began writing the monthly “Portfolio Strategy” column for Forbes magazine. He is currently the fourth-longest running columnist in the magazine’s 90+year history.

In the early 1990s, Fisher Investments contributed to the recognition of distinct investment styles and cycles and conducted proprietary research aimed at identifying the drivers of these cycles. These advancements became the foundation for a series of broad equity mandate strategies: Global Total Return, US Total Return and Foreign Equity.

Later that decade, the firm began making significant developments in the emerging field of behavioral finance by researching its practical application in the portfolio management process.

In 1995, Fisher Investments began offering global equity management directly to high net worth individuals via the Fisher Investments Private Client Group. In early 2000, the firm expanded its service offerings to investors in both Canada and the United Kingdom. In 2007, the firm entered into a joint venture partnership through its joint venture affiliate, Grüner Fisher Investments GmbH, which serves investors in Germany.

Fisher Investments’ Structure

Fisher Investments manages assets across two principal business units, Fisher Investments Institutional Group and Fisher Investments Private Client Group. Together, these groups serve a global client base of diverse investors including corporate, public and multi-employer pension funds, foundations and endowments, insurance companies, healthcare organizations, governments and high net worth individuals.

While some key functions serve both business units, such as research, trading and investment operations, other functions are specialized, including sales, marketing, and client services, to name a few. Each business function is managed by a Group Vice President, who is responsible for ensuring the ultimate success of the department. The Office of the President oversees all Group Vice Presidents and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Fisher Investments.

The firm’s Investment Policy Committee (IPC) is comprised of Ken Fisher, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Jeff Silk, Vice Chairman, and Andrew Teufel, Co-President and Director of Research. Together, they are responsible for all strategic investment decisions across both business units.

Within the Fisher Investments Institutional Group, the client service and marketing roles are carried out by the firm’s Portfolio Specialists, who serve as liaison between the IPC and our institutional clients and consultants. Their principle functions include servicing institutional clients and marketing to consultants and plan sponsors. The Portfolio Specialist role encompasses a variety of responsibilities including communicating portfolio strategy, market outlook, and performance. Additionally, Portfolio Specialists work with institutional clients and the Research Department to conduct independent research projects.