The American star investor Ken Fisher had made misogynist and suggestive remarks at a conference in San Francisco: He compared the acquisition of a customer, with “trying to get into a girl’s pants”.
MeToo, and nothing learned!
This comparison not only caused outrage at the conference,but also an outcry in the social media channels.
Promptly, the faux pas of the 68-year-old money manager was punished with outflows.
The US news website FOX Business reports that the state of Michigan with its pension fund pulled out 600 million USD out of Fisher’s funds.
According to Fox Business, Jon Braeutigam, Michigan’s Chief Investment Officer, wrote in a letter to the State Investment Board: “[A]ll were in unanimous agreement that prompt termination is the correct course of action,” he wrote. “There is no excuse to not treat everyone with dignity and respect. We have high expectations of our managers (and staff), not just with regards to returns but also in how they exhibit integrity and respect to all individuals.” Braeutigam characterized Fisher’s remarks as “completely unacceptable comments” and said Michigan was cutting ties even though Fisher Investments’ “performance has been good (beating the S&P 1500).”
Fidelity and the Iowa Pension Fund are also withdrawing funds
Despite a public apology from Ken Fisher, the investment firm Fidelity also announced that it was cutting its ties with Ken Fisher. “We are very concerned about the highly inappropriate comments by Kenneth Fisher,” a Fidelity spokesperson told FOX Business. “The views he expressed do not align in any way with our company’s values. We do not tolerate these types of comments at our company.”
According to Reuters, Fisher Investments manages approximately 500 million USD under the Fidelity Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund.
Iowa’s Pension Fund also withdrew 386 million USD from Fisher’s administration.
According to Citywire, Fisher Investments manages assets in excess of 100 billion USD.
Anke Dembowski is a financial journalist and author of various investment fund-related and other financial books. She is also a co-founder of the "Fondsfrauen" network.