Ken Fisher potentially seeking 'some liquidity': Source

Earlier this week, it was reported that Advent International has held talks to acquire billionaire Ken Fisher’s eponymous Fisher Investments.

Fisher Investments, with $236 billion in client assets, said through a spokesperson that the firm was not being sold to Advent International or another firm.

But now it appears that one potential strategy for the 73-year-old Fisher, executive chairman and co-chief investment officer, is to sell a minority stake in the firm to one or more investors, which would allow him to retain control of the firm he launched in 1979 while also taking some chips off the table, according to one senior industry source who asked not to be identified.

"Ken is trying to take a strategic investment so he can get some liquidity," the source said. "Apparently, he doesn't want private equity money and has demanding terms, so some investors are not interested. Sovereign funds are the likely choice."

A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned fund that invests globally. Norway’s sovereign fund, Norges Bank Investment Management, with $1.4 trillion in assets, is the world’s largest, according to the SWF Institute.

A potential difficulty in an outright sale of the closely held Fisher Investments, which works with 145,000 individuals, families, businesses and institutions, is that it is so closely associated with one person: Ken Fisher. He is revered in the wealth management industry for his marketing techniques, which focus on the so-called mass affluent investor, meaning clients with a minimum of $500,000 to invest.

"The Fisher Investments marketing for years has been effective, but, with so many opportunities in the wealth management space, why invest into a firm so well established with one person in control," said another senior industry source, who also asked not to be identified. "RIAs are also more and more focused on wealthy, high-net-worth clients, and the Fisher marketing pitch is how to retire with $500,000."

In October 2019, Fisher was charged by some with violating the limits of good taste and decorum when he made a series of offensive remarks during a presentation at an industry event. He compared the process of gaining a client’s trust to “trying to get into a girl’s pants” and talked about genitalia.

Fisher apologized after the comments were made public on social media in a video posted by a financial advisor who attended the meeting.

Several clients pulled money from Fisher Investments after the incident. The State of Michigan Retirement Fund’s pension account reportedly ended its relationship at the time with Fisher Investments, where it had $600 million.