- The city of Boston is pulling $248 million in pension assets from Fisher Investments following billionaire Ken Fisher's sexist remarks at a conference this month.
- "Boston will not invest in companies led by people who treat women like commodities," Boston mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement.
- The decision comes after Michigan and Philadelphia also voted to take their assets from the firm.
Ken Fisher's sexist comments have now cost his investment firm about $1 billion in lost assets under management. The city of Boston is the latest to pull its pension assets from Fisher Investments following his Oct. 8 comments that compared signing a new client to "getting into a girl's pants."
"Boston will not invest in companies led by people who treat women like commodities," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement emailed to CBS MoneyWatch. "Reports of Ken Fisher's comments and poor judgement are incredibly disturbing, and I have asked our Retirement Board to take a vote to end any relationship with Fisher Investments."
The Boston pension board on Wednesday voted in favor of withdrawing the $248 million it had invested with Fisher Investments. That follows Michigan's decision to take back $600 million it had invested with Fisher and the city of Philadelphia's withdrawal of $54 million from his firm.
To be sure, $1 billion in assets is a fraction of Fisher Investment's $112 billion in overall assets under management, but at least two other clients with a combined $1 billion at Fisher Investments are reviewing their ties to the firm following the comments. They include money management giant Fidelity Investments, which has about $500 million at Fisher Investments, and the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension board, with about $511 million, according to Reuters.
Firms like Fisher's charge investors a fee on the total assets being managed. A management fee of 1%, for instance, would mean his firm could be facing an annual revenue loss of $10 million to $20 million.
Fisher made his comments at an exclusive event hosted by Tiburon Strategic Advisors that carried an entry fee of $25,000 per person. Fisher is reportedly worth $3.7 billion, making him the 195th wealthiest person in the U.S., according to Forbes.
Rachel Robasciotti, a principal and wealth manager at Robasciotti & Philipson who attended the conference as a speaker and heard Fisher's remarks, told CBS MoneyWatch that his comments highlight the intense sexism women often face in the investment business, which make it hard to gain a foothold in the industry.
Women represent only 4% of top executives at mutual funds, hedge funds and other investment vehicles and control just 1% to 3.5% of fund assets under management, according to the Harvard Business Review.
Aimee Picchi
Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
Billionaire Ken Fisher's sexist comments have cost him almost $1 billion
By Aimee Picchi
/ MoneyWatch
Ken Fisher's sexist comments have now cost his investment firm about $1 billion in lost assets under management. The city of Boston is the latest to pull its pension assets from Fisher Investments following his Oct. 8 comments that compared signing a new client to "getting into a girl's pants."
"Boston will not invest in companies led by people who treat women like commodities," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement emailed to CBS MoneyWatch. "Reports of Ken Fisher's comments and poor judgement are incredibly disturbing, and I have asked our Retirement Board to take a vote to end any relationship with Fisher Investments."
The Boston pension board on Wednesday voted in favor of withdrawing the $248 million it had invested with Fisher Investments. That follows Michigan's decision to take back $600 million it had invested with Fisher and the city of Philadelphia's withdrawal of $54 million from his firm.
To be sure, $1 billion in assets is a fraction of Fisher Investment's $112 billion in overall assets under management, but at least two other clients with a combined $1 billion at Fisher Investments are reviewing their ties to the firm following the comments. They include money management giant Fidelity Investments, which has about $500 million at Fisher Investments, and the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension board, with about $511 million, according to Reuters.
Firms like Fisher's charge investors a fee on the total assets being managed. A management fee of 1%, for instance, would mean his firm could be facing an annual revenue loss of $10 million to $20 million.
Fisher made his comments at an exclusive event hosted by Tiburon Strategic Advisors that carried an entry fee of $25,000 per person. Fisher is reportedly worth $3.7 billion, making him the 195th wealthiest person in the U.S., according to Forbes.
Rachel Robasciotti, a principal and wealth manager at Robasciotti & Philipson who attended the conference as a speaker and heard Fisher's remarks, told CBS MoneyWatch that his comments highlight the intense sexism women often face in the investment business, which make it hard to gain a foothold in the industry.
Women represent only 4% of top executives at mutual funds, hedge funds and other investment vehicles and control just 1% to 3.5% of fund assets under management, according to the Harvard Business Review.
Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
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