Personal Wealth Management / Expert Commentary
A Continual Push For Better
Hear from founder, Ken Fisher, about why our company has always looked to take new paths over its history
In 1979, Ken Fisher founded Fisher Investments and began managing discretionary assets with a fundamental belief in capitalism and free capital markets. We start with the simple notion that supply and demand are the sole determinants of securities pricing. In addition, we believe capital markets are relatively efficient discounters of all widely known information.
Thus, to add value through active management, one must identify information not widely known or interpret widely known information differently—and correctly—from other market participants. Throughout its history, Fisher Investments has continuously developed ways to look at capital markets differently.
Ken Fisher's theoretical work in the 1970s popularised the use of the Price-to-Sales Ratio and detailed its relevance as a tool for investment analysis. This tool was used to help manage small cap value portfolios for institutional investors.
In the mid-1980s, Fisher Investments contributed to the recognition of distinct investment styles. These advancements as the foundation for a new series of broad mandate strategies, including Global Total Return, US Total Return and Foreign Equity. Vice Chairman & Co-Chief Investment Officer, Jeff Silk, joined the firm in 1983.
In the mid-1990s, Fisher Investments began offering separate portfolio management directly to high net worth individuals under our Private Client Group. In 1997, CEO Damian Ornani joined the firm. In early 2000, Fisher Investments expanded its service offerings into Canada and the United Kingdom. In 2007, Fisher Investments entered into a joint venture partnership (now a wholly owned subsidiary of Fisher Investments), Grüner Fisher Investments GmbH, which offers its services to investors in Germany. In 2012, Fisher Investments Europe (a subsidiary of Fisher Investments) began conducting business in other European countries. Today, Fisher Investments and its subsidiaries operate in 15 offices across 16 countries—and serve over 155,000 clients globally.*
In addition, Fisher Investments has dedicated significant resources to the emerging field of behavioral finance to better understand not just the tools of finance, but also how investors use these tools. Fisher Investments research has led them to develop practical applications of behavioral finance in portfolio management process.
Fisher Investments research has been showcased in numerous financial journals, including the Financial Analysts Journal and The Journal of Portfolio Management. In 1984, Ken began writing the “Portfolio Strategy” column for Forbes magazine. He also has been writing a weekly column for Germany's Focus Money since 2009 and has contributed to several UK publications as well. In addition, four of Ken's more recent books—Debunkery (2010), How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud (2009), The Ten Roads to Riches (2008) and The Only Three Questions That Count (2006)—were named New York Times bestsellers.
*As of 01/07/2024. Includes Fisher Investments and its affiliates.
Transcript
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FISHER INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA®
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A man appears in a white dress shirt. A fly-out in the lower right corner identifies him as Ken Fisher, Executive Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer.
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Ken Fisher: Now, I’m a little always afraid of us having complacency. Because then we become the thing that at a future date, the world should, if you will, end up popular current vernacular phraseology (that I never heard when I was young and don't actually much care for), get disrupted by a new world if we're complacent. But if we keep focus on trying to do never yet done things that will never happen. And it's that which I keep coming back to over time as the part that drives me that I get excited about.
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FISHER INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA®
Fisher Investments Australia® is a trademark of Fisher Investments Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN 86 159 670 667, AFSL 433312), which provides services to wholesale clients only and outsources portfolio management to its parent company, Fisher Asset Management, LLC (AR 001292046), which does business in the United States as Fisher Investments. Investing in equities and other financial products involves the risk of loss. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. This document constitutes the general views of Fisher Investments Australia as of the date of this document. These views do not take into account individual financial situations, needs or objectives and should not be regarded as personal investment advice. No assurances are made we will continue to hold these views, which may change at any time based on new information, analysis or reconsideration. In addition, no assurances are made regarding the accuracy of any forecast or other forward looking statement made herein.
Forecasts are based on current expectations and beliefs involving risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and judgments that are difficult to accurately predict and may prove inaccurate. Forecasts and any past performance information are not an indicator of future performance and should not be relied upon. Actual outcomes may be materially different. There can be no assurances that investment returns from a particular strategy or allocation will exceed returns from another strategy or allocation. Any commentary regarding strategy or performance reflects our Global Total Return strategy that is benchmarked to the MSCI World Index. Given different objectives and circumstances, clients may have different benchmarks and client accounts may not contain all elements of any strategy discussed here. Individual financial products, including fixed interest products and derivatives, and investing in different markets, carry unique risks. Any references to a particular tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in the future.
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