Founding Principles
We start with the simple notion that supply and demand are the sole determinants of securities pricing. We combine this with the belief that capital markets are relatively efficient discounters of widely known information.
Thus, to add value through active investment management, we believe one must identify information not widely known or interpret widely known information differentlyâand correctlyâfrom other market participants.
Contributions to the Investment Universe
Throughout Fisher Investments' history, we have continuously developed ways to look at capital markets differently.
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Key Developments
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Ongoing Research
- Ken Fisher's theoretical work in the 1970s popularized the use of the Price-to-Sales Ratio, now a core element of modern financial curriculum. This tool was instrumental in managing small cap value portfolios for our institutional clients.
- In the mid-1980s, Fisher Investments contributed to the delineation of six distinct investment styles. We used these advancements as the foundation for a new series of broad mandate strategies, including Global Total Return, US Total Return and Foreign Equity.
We have dedicated significant resources to the field of behavioral finance to better understand financial tools and how investors use them. Our research has led us to develop practical applications of behavioral finance in our portfolio management process.
Our research has been showcased in numerous financial journals, including the Financial Analysts Journal and The Journal of Portfolio Management. In 1984, Ken began writing Forbesâ âPortfolio Strategyâ column, which ran monthly until 12/31/2016âmaking Ken the longest continuously running columnist in the magazineâs history. He now writes regular columns for RealClearMarkets.com and monthly, local-language columns in major Asian and Western European media organizations.
Ken has also written 11 books on investing and wealth creation. Four of Ken's more recent booksâDebunkery (2010), How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud (2009), The Ten Roads to Riches (2008) and The Only Three Questions That Count (2006)âwere named New York Times bestsellers.
Expanding Service
In the mid-1990s, we began offering separate portfolio management services directly to high net worth individuals under our US Private Client Group. We expanded our service offerings into Canada and established Fisher Investments Europe in the United Kingdom in the early 2000s. In 2007, we entered into a joint venture partnership (now a wholly owned subsidiary of Fisher Investments), Grüner Fisher Investments GmbH, which serves investors in Germany.
By 2012, Fisher Investments Europe (a subsidiary of Fisher Investments) began conducting business in other European countries. Today, Fisher Investments and its subsidiaries operate in 14 offices—and serves over 130,000 clients globally.*
*As of 3/31/2023, Fisher Investments and its subsidiaries manage over $192 billion in assets globally—over $156 billion for private investors, $33 billion for institutional investors and $3 billion for US small to mid-sized business retirement plans.