Founded in 1979 by Ken Fisher, Fisher Investments is a money management firm based in Woodside, CA and one of the largest independent investment advisors in the world. The Fisher Investments Private Client Group, established in 1995, serves over 25,000 private clients and the Institutional Group serves over 100 large organizations globally, including Fortune 500 corporations, governments, foundations & endowments.1 Fisher Investments remains independent and, unlike many firms in our industry, does not generally work with intermediaries such as financial planners. Fisher Investments maintains a dedicated service team, which allows us to provide a high-level of personalized service and maintain what we believe to be one of the highest client retention rates in the industry. Fisher Investments also has a direct sales team and engages in marketing to generate new business. Occasionally, there are questions or complaints about the presence of Fisher Investments' advertisements on the internet. So Fisher Investments created this website to provide perspective on our marketing practices.
Because Fisher Investments is independent, we sell and market our services directly to the public. We market our services by using both online and offline channels such as direct mail, print, Internet banners, emails, and occasionally broadcast media. These marketing methods are essential to Fisher Investments' business and growth, allowing us to invest further in research, innovation, and hiring—all of which benefits our clients. We believe our marketing strategy is cost effective and helps us deliver more value for existing and new clients. We believe this direct-to-client relationship helps eliminate conflicts of interest inherent to indirect distribution prevalent in financial services. Furthermore, while it’s easy to find complaints about advertising practices in general, it's important to understand the majority of publications offering advertising, both online and offline, depend heavily on advertising revenue for survival. Many of the websites, radio programs and newspapers we all enjoy for free would not be available were it not for the advertising that supports them (or they would require paid subscription).
Some complain about Fisher Investments marketing and advertising -- going so far as suggesting Fisher Investments is nothing more than a marketing machine. Nothing could be further from the truth. We remain committed to delivering unparalleled service and long-term performance based on each client's personal situation. We also dedicate significant resources to providing investment education to the general public, including daily commentary at MarketMinder.com and a series of investment books published in partnership with John Wiley & Sons. CEO Ken Fisher has written the Forbes Portfolio Strategy column for 27+ years, eight books including five national best sellers, and award-winning investment research. (Fisher received the Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Award for outstanding published research.) He's also written several academic papers in The Journal of Portfolio Management, The Financial Analyst's Journal, The Journal of Psychology, The Journal of Behavioral Finance, The Financial Times, and Research Magazine, among others. In Ken Fisher's view, complaints about our marketing are unwarranted -- the firm's marketing is an innovative approach to building and growing Fisher Investments. He has been recognized by the industry for his innovation and leadership. Investment Advisor, a leading monthly industry publication, named Ken Fisher, founder and CEO of Fisher Investments, one of the 30 most influential individuals in the industry in the last 30 years. (See sidebar.)
5/1/2010 - CEO Ken Fisher Recognized by Investment Advisor, Citing Vertical Integration and Innovative Marketing
Investment Advisor, a leading monthly industry publication, named Ken Fisher, founder and CEO of Fisher Investments, one of the 30 most influential individuals in the industry in the last 30 years.
"With more than [25,000] private clients, 1,000 employees, and [$43 billion] in assets under management,1 Fisher Investments is about as big as it gets in the advisory world," the magazine said in observing Ken Fisher and his firm, Fisher Investments in its Thirty for Thirty list.2 The magazine credits Ken Fisher with an innovative approach to building and growing Fisher Investments, including:
1As of 3/29/2012
2Thirty for Thirty, Investment Advisor, 5/1/2010