Billionaire Ken Fisher of Camas-based Fisher Investments apparently shocked audiences at a recent speaking event by using overtly sexual language in a simile meant to illustrate how to win business in the money management industry.
Bloomberg first reported the remarks, which were made in San Francisco on Oct. 8.
Bloomberg reported on Oct. 9, “After stunning the crowd at a San Francisco conference Tuesday by talking about genitalia and likening winning money-management clients to ‘trying to get into a girl’s pants,’ Fisher said he was surprised by how people reacted. He said he’s spoken like that plenty of times in the past.
‘I have given a lot of talks, a lot of times, in a lot of places and said stuff like this and never gotten that type of response,’ Fisher, 68, said in an interview Wednesday with Bloomberg, adding he thought his comments were taken out of context. ‘Mostly the audience understands what I am saying.’”
Fisher is an international columnist and author, and is considered a thought leader in finance. He is also known for his controversial remarks and has been previously reported comparing seeking clients to seeking sex.
Fisher Investments is an independent investment adviser with $112 billion under management globally. The company was founded in 1979 by Fisher and currently has more than 65,000 private clients.
Bloomberg reported that, “His firm’s investors include pensions for teachers and other public employees in Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi and Ohio, according to their most recent annual reports. The $630 million public school system pension in Kansas City, Missouri, has about $75 million with the firm.”
In an open letter, Tiburon Strategic Advisors Managing Partner Charles “Chip” Roame said Fisher will not be invited to return to another summit because of his remarks. Subsequently Fisher apologized in a statement submitted to The Oregonian/OregonLive.
