Fisher Investments is a firm that manages the money and falls on SmartAsset’s list of the top ten financial advisors in the United States. This money management firm’s headquarters is in Camas, Washington. The clients of Fisher Investments are beyond the border – across the U.S., Asia, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. In addition, over 175 large institutions and more than 68,000 private clients.
Though it holds a vast client base and works with charitable organizations, municipal government, pooled investment vehicles, other investment advisors, etc., there are two significant issues with Fisher Investments. One is the lack of protection from UK investors and the overreliance on North America. According to a few customers, it is an investment firm with horrible customer service and follow-up. Many even complain about its high fees and poor management. So here is a confusion raised: Is Fisher Investments A Scam Or Can I Trust It? Do you wonder the same?
Let’s jump into the article to dig out background history, Fisher Investment Strategy, and Performance to figure out whether it is legit or a scam. We will discuss various aspects of this investment company step-by-step, and then, by considering that information, we will conclude its legitimation.
Fisher Investments Background
Ken Fisher established Fisher Investments in 1979; Fisher is a famous figure in the investment world who has written 11 books and penned his “Portfolio Strategy” column for over 30 years in Forbes Magazine. In the investment advisory business, Fisher was named one of the 30 most influential figures by Investment Advisor Magazine for the last three decades.
Since its founding nearly 40 years ago, Fisher Investments has been a fee-only private firm founded around forty years ago; this is why it is serving clients across the globe.
Fisher Investments Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Fisher Investments has a private client base, so it has high-net-worth individuals and works with less moneyed investors. Corporations, public pension funds, retirement plans, endowments, foundations, governments, and investment companies are its client base.
Generally, Fisher Investments works with clients having a minimum of $500,000 in investable assets, but its WealthBuilder accounts require even a lower amount, $200,000. These and all WealthBuilder accounts are subject to a higher fee rate of 1.50%, but the firm bears smaller account sizes at its tact. So investors with less money can also work with the firm’s financial advisors.
Services Offered by Fisher Investments
The services for private clients of Fisher Investments include annuity conversion, portfolio management, retirement planning, and financial planning. The portfolio management services are split into three categories with the aim to maximize returns within risk parameters:
Equity Accounts
These accounts are mainly utilized by common stock and cash equivalents.
Blended Accounts
As the name indicates that this account is commonly used by a blend of stocks, fixed income instruments, and cash.
Fixed income Accounts
These are primarily opted by cash and various fixed income instruments.
Commonly, Fisher Investment covers High-net-worth clients, yet it comprises the most significant percentage of its client base. This financial advisor is distributed further into four major businesses: Fisher Investments Private Client Group, Fisher Investments Institutional Group, Fisher Investments International Group, and Fisher Investments 401(k) Solutions Group.
Investment Philosophy
Fisher’s Investments firm prefers a flexible investment strategy, as it believes one strategy is always superior to others. Therefore, the firm actively invests in responding to the markets and changing client portfolios as essential.
When building and managing client portfolios, Fisher Investment attaches to four paramount principles which help meet clients’ long-term objectives. It establishes a benchmark to serve as the framework, facilitating the portfolio, managing risk, and monitoring performance.
One of the firm’s principles is to employ a mixture of specific securities to balance reward versus risk.
The Investment Policy Committee of the firm tends to make investment decisions. The team concentrates first on asset allocation and takes a top-down approach. The firm acknowledges that asset allocation is portfolio performance’s basic driver. Asset allocation is tailored based on personal factors: clients’ time horizons, cash flow needs, risk tolerances, and outside assets risk tolerances. The asset allocation is followed by a sub-asset allocation that focuses on determining which countries or market sectors are likely to outperform.
Fees Under Fisher Investments
Typically, Fisher Investments bills its clients based on an undermanagement percentage. Any account under the $500,000 threshold will be charged 1.5% annually. Clients are also bullied on a tiered schedule depending on the type of account and amount of assets under management:
| Equity And Blended Account | |
| Amount Of Assets | Annual Management Fees |
| First $1 million | 1.25% |
| Next $4 million | 1.125% |
| Additional amounts over $5 million | 1.00% |
Below is the approximate amount you would pay in advisory fees, depending on your account size. However, this expected fee doesn’t include custodial, third-party manager, brokerage, etc.; these prices can vary!
| Your Assets | Annual Fee Amount |
| $1MM | $12,500 |
| $5MM | $57,500 |
| $10MM | $107,500 |
| Income Only Accounts (above $5 million) | |
| Amount of Assets | Annual Management Fee |
| First $5 million | 0.75% |
| Next $10 million | 0.50% |
| Next $10 million | 0.43% |
| Next $10 million | 0.38% |
| Next $10 million | 0.33% |
| Next $45 million | 0.28% |
Fisher Investments Awards and Recognition
In recent years, Fisher Investments has been identified by several industry publications. In 2017, in InvestmentNews’ list of the top 10 U.S.-based, this investment firm was ranked No. 2 in the fee-only registered investment advisors. For the past four years, Financial Times has been back-to-back named among the top 300 financial advisors. The evaluation is based on their online accessibility, industry certifications, AUM, growth, and other factors. In 2016, in the Pensions & Investments list of the global 500 extensive money managers, Fisher Investments was proudly ranked No. 164.
Specifically, Fisher Investments was ranked as one of 2017’s top retirement advisors by Financial Times. It also owned space on the National Association of Plan Advisors’ 2017 list, including the top defined contribution advisor firms.
What to Watch Out for
In the most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Fisher Investments didn’t announce disclosures of regulatory or legal action. One noticeable thigh is that Fisher Investments isn’t part of a larger institution (as it is privately owned), so it doesn’t offer access to services like trusts or banking as part of its package.
Weigh Out The Pros And Cons
These pros and cons are filtered from audience reviews.
Pros
Well-spoken promise makers
Lots of nice books to read before bedtime
Uses established broker platforms such as TD in the Advisor client role.
Pretty bulletins and charts.
Slick presentations
Cons
They lie to your new brokerage firm so long
Do not manage the account well
Outrageously high fees
Often, makes Bad Investment Decisions
Horrible customer service and follow-ups
Poor personal management, grab customers, and forget.
A “set it” and “forget it” scam. No strategy!
Fees seem high for observed returns.
Is Fisher Investments A Scam Or Can I Trust It: Final Opinion
As discussed, in recent years, several industry publications acknowledged Fisher Investments. In 2017, it stood as the No. 2 on InvestmentNews’ list of fee-only registered investment advisors. Moreover, it has also been seen that Forbes, Ken Fisher’s public stock picks surpassed the broad U.S. stock industry by an average of 4.2% annually, but performance may be waning. For the last seven years, the Financial Times has stipulated Fisher Investments as a leading investment advisor. The firm has also won many awards for its performance and size. The other way round, scammers often mix some false information with some correct registered details of the firm, which affects the firm’s reputation.
So this entire discussion, success, and prizes prove that Fisher Inverters is legit. However, some clients have encountered worse experiences, but various backgrounds could be behind this cause.
Our Summary
Fisher Investment stands in the list of the Largest Money Managers, and due to its performance, the firm has one outstanding rank and awards. In 2021, among the 5000 money managers, Fisher Investments was ranked #133 on the list of Pensions and Investments.
The performance and working philosophy show that you can trust Fisher Investment, but there are also many negative reviews about the management and overpricing, but there is no evidence of how honest these reviews are. Additionally, there are also a few risks associated with Fishers Investments, as one of them is its over-dependency on North America, and the second is the absence of protection for UK investors. With the heavy dependence of Freshers Investors on one asset class/global sector, we suppose this is a genuine threat for Fisher clients.
But whatever the scenario is, in the end, the decision is yours!
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