Fidelity is reviewing its ties with Ken Fisher after his comments at conference

Fidelity is reviewing its ties with Ken Fisher after his comments at conference
Fisher Investments manages about $500 million for Fidelity's Strategic Advisers unit
OCT 15, 2019
Fidelity Investments is reviewing its relationship with billionaire money manager Ken Fisher in the wake of offensive remarks he made at an industry conference. "We are very concerned about the highly inappropriate comments by Kenneth Fisher," a Fidelity spokesman said in a statement Tuesday. "The views he expressed do not align in any way with our company's values. We do not tolerate these types of comments at our company and Fidelity Strategic Advisers is reviewing this relationship." Fisher Investments manages about $500 million for Fidelity Strategic Advisers, which oversees managed accounts. Mr. Fisher is listed as a subadviser for Fidelity Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund. [Recommended video: Which source of outside capital is best suited to advisory firms?]​ Fisher Investments is facing a backlash from pension funds and other clients after the comments Mr. Fisher made at the Tiburon CEO summit in San Francisco. The State of Michigan Retirement Fund's pension account has ended its relationship with Fisher Investments, which managed $600 million for the state. At the event last week, Mr. Fisher spoke about how he built his company, which manages $112 billion. He compared the process of gaining a client's trust to "trying to get into a girl's pants" and talked about genitalia. Mr. Fisher has apologized for the comments. Fidelity came under media scrutiny two years ago after it dismissed a prominent stock picker who had been accused of sexual harassment by a junior female employee. CEO Abby Johnson set out to improve the gender mix at her firm by recruiting more women and tapping talent from within. Reuters earlier reported the Fisher news. [More: Outcry over Ken Fisher comments could mark turning point for industry conferences]​

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