Fisher Investments’ Founder Ken Fisher, Describes a Financial “Black Swan”

Fisher Investments’ founder, Executive Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer Ken Fisher discusses the concept of “black swans” in finance. Ken explains black swans were once considered exceptionally rare animals in nature and therefore symbolic of something considered “impossible.” Similarly, in finance, a “black swan” refers to a truly unpredictable, unprecedented, once-in-a-century event with potentially severe consequences for the global financial system.

Ken thinks people often abuse the term “black swan.” Many apply the term frequently (and incorrectly) to events that occur in most business cycles and hence aren’t truly black swans. As Ken explains, imagined black swans usually do not pack the punch, both in scale and surprise power, to wreak havoc on global markets.