Kenneth L. Fisher

Kenneth L. Fisher (born November 29, 1950) is an American businessman and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Fisher Investments, a money management firm headquartered in Woodside, California. Fisher writes the monthly “Portfolio Strategy” column in "Forbes" magazine, contributes to other financial and news magazines, has authored four books, and has written research papers in the field of behavioral finance. http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%2B%22KL+Fisher%22+%2B+%22M+Statman%22&btnG=Search] Fisher is ranked #281 on the 2008 Forbes 400 list of richest Americans [ [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/54/richlist07_Kenneth-Fisher_W06I.html #271 Kenneth Fisher - Forbes.com ] ] and #677 on "Forbes" list of world billionaires. [ [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/54/400list08_Kenneth-Fisher_W06I.html Forbes] ]

Life

Kenneth L. Fisher was born November 29, 1950 in San Francisco, California, the third and youngest son of Philip A. Fisher, an investor and author of "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits". Ken Fisher was raised in San Mateo, California. He went to Humboldt State University to study forestry, but graduated with a degree in economics in 1972. ["Shaking it Up," but Vernon Felton, "Humboldt Stater", Fall, 2006.] After graduating, he worked for his father, Phil Fisher, who was a noted money manager and author. Fisher started his own company, Fisher Investments, in 1979 [See "Bay Area Billionaires" by Jennifer Roberts, "San Jose Magazine", February, 2007] , which now manages over $45 billion (as of September 30, 2007) for private clients and institutions (i.e., pensions and foundations). The firm also has offices in the UK [“Wealth Management,” by Tom Burroughes, "The Business." 14 July 2007.] and Germany. [ [http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=comktNews&storyID=urn “Fisher Investments expands into Germany.” "Reuters", Jul 16, 2007] ]

Fisher supports ongoing study of redwood ecology, particularly the emerging field of study of redwood canopies. [ [http://www.humboldt.edu/~sillett/ Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology • Humboldt State University ] ] Fisher wrote the introduction to the second edition of Sawmills in the Redwoods by Frank M. Stanger. In it, Fisher details his own experiences locating, excavating, and cataloging artifacts from 1890’s era steam-powered sawmills on Kings Mountain in San Mateo County, CA. [Frank M. Stanger. "Sawmills in the Redwoods." San Mateo Historical Society, San Mateo, CA 1992.] In 2006, Fisher established the Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology for the Department of Biological Sciences at Humboldt State University, currently held by Stephen Sillett, [ [http://www.humboldt.edu/~sillett/fisher.html Kenneth L. Fisher • HSU Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology ] ] the biologist who's featured, along with Sillett's brother and his wife, in Richard Preston's 2007 book "The Wild Trees.".cite book|title=The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring|first=Richard|last=Preston|publisher=Random House|year=2007|isbn=978-1400064892|authorlink=Richard Preston] Fisher also contributes frequently to historical research for San Mateo County, writing most frequently on King’s Mountain redwood logging and settlement history and other historical San Mateo events. [Ken Fisher. “The Crash of ’53: Our Country’s Worst Aviation Tragedy.” La Peninsula: The Journal of the San Mateo County Historical Association. Volume XXVII, No. 2.] [Ken Fisher. “Kings Mountain’s Colorful History.” La Peninsula: The Journal of the San Mateo County Historical Association. Volume XXVI, No. 3.]

Professional career

Fisher Investments doesn't publicly publish client portfolio performance, though Fisher Investments SEC Public Filings are maintained in the EDGAR public database [ [http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=%22Fisher+Investments%22&CIK=&filenum=&State=&SIC=&owner=include&action=getcompany Fisher Investments SEC public filings] ] . According to Business Week's "The Best Places to Launch a Career 2008", Fisher Investments was ranked #90 out of the 119 total companies featured on the list. [http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/career_launch_2008/index.asp]

Forecasting

* Ken Fisher has been writing the “Portfolio Strategy” column in "Forbes" since 1984. [ [http://search.forbes.com/search/colArchiveSearch?author=Fisher Ken Fisher Forbes Magazine article archive] ] Each column details Fisher’s personal market outlook, and usually has 4 to 6 recommended stocks. According to Fisher's January 28th, 2008 column, if an investor bought his 60 recommendations in 2007, the gross return would have been 0.9%, while buying the S&P 500 index would have returned -0.5%. (According to "Forbes", all columnists' annual stock picking performance is measured as if equal-sized investments are made at the time the stock pick is published with a 1% transaction fee.) Fisher's stock picks for 2006 returned 15.7% versus the S&P 500's 8.7% (again, using the same methodology). The Russell 3000 Value index returned 22.3% in 2006.

*Based on stock recommendations in his monthly "Forbes" columns beginning January, 2001, CXO Advisory Group as of April 28th, 2008 ranks Ken Fisher as tied for the second place with James Oberweis with an accuracy rate of 65%. [ [http://www.cxoadvisory.com/gurus/ CXO Advisory Group Guru Rankings] ] Other experts in CXO rankings may have longer or shorter measurement periods.

*In a recent review by CXO Advisory Group, they found "as calculated by Forbes, Ken Fisher's public stock picks have generally outperformed the broad U.S. stock market over the past ten years by about 6% annually." [http://www.cxoadvisory.com/gurus/fisher/stock-picking/]

*Guru Focus, which tracks major stock market gurus based on their 13-F filings, has stopped actively tracking Ken Fisher's stock picks. Fisher's portfolio was last updated with trades estimated to have been made on 08/13/2007. [ [http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Kenneth+Fisher GuruFocus] ]

*Not everyone has been impressed with Fisher Investments forecasts and performance, according to these articles from: The Wall Street Journal, February 6th, 2004, [ [http://www.latrobefinancialmanagement.com/Research/Money_Management/Define%20Aggressive%20Fisher%20Sales.pdf The Wall Street Journal: Define Aggressive: Fisher Sales And Marketing Practices] ] Business Week, May 10th, 2004, [ [http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_19/b3882100_mz020.htm Business Week: Hype From A Financial Guru?] ] and Salon.Com, February 26th, 2008. [ [http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2008/02/26/ken_fisher_says_don_t_worry/index.html Salon.com: Are we too gloomy about the economy?] ]

*Other criticisms have also been levied against Fisher Investments. One complaint is that the company is litigious, filing legal actions against a brokerage firm, [ [http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200611101526DOWJONESDJONLINE000863_FORTUNE5.htm CNN Money: Fisher sues Wachovia for sales exec hire] ] former employees [ [http://www.djreprints.com/cgi/dfhp_search_server_jnumber.pl?AN=j20070620000085.xml&FA=DJRFactiva1.0 The Wall Street Journal: How Fisher, Ex-Workers Handle Divorce - Money Manager Sues Its Former Employees Over Data on Clients] ] [ [http://www.reuters.com/article/fundsFundsNews/idUSN2028129120070620 Reuters: Fisher Investments sues former employees] ] and a dissatisfied client. [ [http://www.prlog.org/10052976-fisher-investments-strikes-against-former-client-newspaper-publisher.html PR Log: Fisher Investments Strikes Against Former Client - a Newspaper Publisher] ] To date, Fisher Investments has won four arbitration cases against former employees for violating client confidentiality. [ [http://www.allbusiness.com/services/business-services/4520288-1.html Business Wire] ] [ [http://www.reuters.com/article/fundsFundsNews/idUSN2028129120070620 Reuters] ]

Published work

Fisher’s theoretical work identifying and testing the price-to-sales ratio (PSR) is detailed in his 1984 Dow Jones book, "Super Stocks". James O'Shaughnessy credits Fisher with being the first to define and use the PSR as a forecasting tool. ["What Works on Wall Street" by James O'Shaughnessy. McGraw Hill, 2005.] In Fisher’s most recent book, "The Only Three Questions That Count", he states the PSR, being widely used, is no longer an indicator for undervalued stocks. ["The Only Three Questions that Count: Investing by Knowing what Others Don’t". Kenneth Fisher with Jennifer Chou and Lara Hoffmans. John Wiley & Sons. 2006] However, the PSR is still frequently included as required curriculum for the chartered financial analyst exam. [https://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/courseofstudy/pdf/cbok.pdf]

Small-cap value was not defined as an investing category until the late 1980s. Fisher Investments was among the institutional money managers offering small-cap value investing to clients in the late 1980s. [ [http://registeredrep.com/moneymanagers/finance_heretic/index.html The Heretic] ]

Fisher publishes research in the study of behavioral finance. He has co-authored several research papers on the topic in collaboration with Meir Statman, the Glenn Klimek professor of finance at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.

Books and other authorship

Fisher has authored four investing books – "Super Stocks" (Dow Jones, 1984), "The Wall Street Waltz" (McGraw Hill, 1987), "100 Minds that Made the Market" (McGraw Hill, 1993), and "The Only Three Questions That Count" (John Wiley & Sons, 2006). "The Only Three Questions That Count" was a "New York Times" best seller for three months in 2006. Also, it made "Wall Street Journal" and "BusinessWeek" best seller lists.

Fisher wrote the introductions to the Wiley Classics Series re-publications of "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" [ "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings". Phillip A. Fisher. John Wiley & Sons. 2003.] , "Paths to Wealth through Common Stocks" ["Paths to Wealth through Common Stocks". Phillip A. Fisher. John Wiley & Sons. 2007.] , both by Philip A. Fisher, and "The Battle for Investment Survival" ["The Battle for Investment Survival". Gerald M. Loeb. John Wiley & Sons. 2007. ] by Gerald M. Loeb. Fisher also wrote the introduction to "The Warren Buffett Way" by Robert Hagstrom. ["The Warren Buffet Way, Second Edition". Robert G. Hagstrom. John Wiley & Sons. 2005.] Fisher's books have been translated to German, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Italian. [John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2007 Annual report. [http://www.wiley.com/legacy/annual_reports/ar_2007/Wiley2007_Annual_Report.pdf] ]

Fisher has also authored investment-related articles appearing in "Research Magazine", [ [http://www.researchmag.com/cms/Research/Monthly%20Issues/Issues/2007/02/Index/Features/02_f_investingscience?searchfor=ken%20fisher Research : Where Financial Advisors Find Results ] ] "Financial Planning", [ [http://www.financial-planning.com/pubs/fp/20060701015.html We Are the World: Does the current inversion in the U.S. yield curve spell trouble ahead? These days, it's the global yield curve that matters ] ] [ [http://www.financial-planning.com/pubs/fp/20061101025.html The Only Three Questions that Count: How can you discover something the crowd doesn't know? It's not so hard to find patterns that will give a bet-able edge ] ] "Journal of Portfolio Management", "The Financial Analyst’s Journal", "The Journal of Investing", "The Journal of Psychology", and "The Journal of Behavioral Finance", among others. Fisher's "Portfolio Strategy" column in "Forbes" has appeared monthly for 23 years. In the UK, Fisher has written for "Bloomberg Money," "Investment Week," and "The Financial Times." [ [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1/b7d08924-50dc-11dc-8e9d-0000779fd2ac.html FT.com / Markets / Investor's notebook - Insight: History teaches this is just a bull market correction ] ] [ [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1/7c692e26-3477-11dc-8c78-0000779fd2ac.html FT.com / Markets / Investor's notebook - Market insight: Be bullish and watch the bears impale themselves ] ] He currently writes monthly columns for UK investment blog "Interactive Investor," [http://www.iii.co.uk/articles/article_overview.jsp] and a weekly column in a major German newspaper "Handelsblatt." [http://www.handelsblatt.com/News/Boerse/Die-Finanzprofis/default_203966.aspx]

Further reading

* "Never Enough Fisher," by Anthony W. Haddad and Jonathan Bernard. "Equities". September 2007. [http://www.equitiesmagazine.com/interview_ken_fisher.php]
* "Market Gurus: Investing Strategies You Can Use from Wall Street's Best" by John P. Reese and Todd O. Glassman. Validea Press. 2005.
* "The Money Monarchs: The Secrets of 10 of America's Best Investment Managers" by Douglas J. Donnelly. Irwin Professional Pub. 1992.
* "Super Stocks" by Kenneth L. Fisher. McGraw Hill. 1990.

Other research

# “Market Timing in Regressions and Reality.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "The Journal of Financial Research", Fall 2006: 293-304. [http://lsb.scu.edu/finance/faculty/statman/articles/mkt%20timing%20in%20regression%20and%20reality.pdf]
# “Market Timing at Home and Abroad.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "The Journal of Investing", Summer 2006: 19-27. [http://lsb.scu.edu/finance/faculty/Statman/articles/market%20timing%20at%20home%20and%20abroad%20031505.pdf]
# “Sentiment, Value, and Market-Timing.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "Financial Analysts Journal", Fall 2004: 10-21. [http://lsb.scu.edu/finance/faculty/Statman/articles/sentiment%20and%20market%20timing%20060205.pdf]
# “Consumer Confidence and Stock Returns.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "The Journal of Portfolio Management", Fall 2003. [http://zonecours.hec.ca/documents/E2005-1-395037.Texte12-30-253-00-E05-ConsumerConfidence....pdf]
# “Bubble Expectations.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "The Journal of Wealth Management", Fall 2002: 17-22. [http://lsb.scu.edu/finance/faculty/Statman/articles/bubble%20expectations.pdf]
# “Blowing Bubbles.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "The Journal of Psychology and Financial Markets", 3.1 (2002): 53-65. [http://lsb.scu.edu/finance/faculty/statman/articles/blowing%20bubbles.pdf]
# “Cognitive Biases in Market Forecasts.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "The Journal of Portfolio Management", Fall 2000: 72-81. [http://faculty.darden.virginia.edu/boebelr/EquityWeb/sessions/Sess13/Bias%20JPM01.pdf]
# “Investor Sentiment and Stock Returns.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "Financial Analysts Journal", Mar/Apr 2000: 16-23. [http://lsb.scu.edu/finance/faculty/Statman/articles/investorsentandstckrtrns.pdf]
# “A Behavioral Framework for Time Diversification.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "Financial Analysts Journal", May/June 1999: 88-97. [http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~keechung/Collection%20of%20Papers%20for%20courses/A%20Behavioral%20Framework%20for%20Time%20Diversification.pdf]
# “Investment Advice from Mutual Fund Companies.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "The Journal of Portfolio Management", Fall 1997: 9-17. [http://lsb.scu.edu/finance/pdfs/investment%20advice%20from%20mutual%20fund%20co.pdf]
# “The Mean-Variance-Optimization Puzzle: Security Portfolios and Food Portfolios.” Fisher, Kenneth L., and Meir Statman. "Financial Analysts Journal", July/Aug 1997: 41-50. [http://lsb.scu.edu/finance/faculty/Statman/articles/the_mean-varience-optimism_puzzle.pdf]

References