Goldman, L.A. Pension Group Drop Fisher, Pushing Redemptions to $2.7 Billion
The developments emerge roughly two weeks after Ken Fisher made lewd remarks at an industry event.
Goldman Sachs and the Los Angeles fire and police pension board have decided to redeem assets managed by Fisher Investments, about two weeks after the firm’s chairman made lewd remarks at an industry event.
With the exit of Goldman’s $234 million and the L.A. pension group’s $511 million, the total figure for assets withdrawn from the firm is now about $2.7 billion, according to figures compiled by Bloomberg.
Before the redemptions, Fisher Investments managed about $114 billion. Other pension systems that have pulled assets from Fisher Investments include those in Iowa, Michigan, Boston and Philadelphia.
Overall, Fisher Investments managed close to $11 billion for 36 state and city entities last year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
L.A. Meeting
“Fisher’s words reach millions and only do damage,” Los Angeles pension commissioner Brian Pendleton said at a board meeting Thursday, Bloomberg reported. “Other pension funds are going to come to the same conclusion and we shouldn’t be the last ones to turn the lights off.”
The gathering included Fisher Investments CEO Damian Ornani, who said: “I really apologize sincerely. He does too. He understands what he did. This will not happen again. This is not who Fisher Investments is. This is not who Ken Fisher is.”
In response the the apology, Commissioner Kenneth Buzzell replied, “Talk is cheap.”
Fisher’s Remarks
Fisher made a series of crude comments at a fireside chat during the Tiburon CEO Summit on Oct. 8. The following day, attendee and advisor Alex Chalekian posted a video on Twitter criticizing the remarks; it has more than 150,000 views.
Afterward, Fisher questioned the negative attention his comments were receiving, before apologizing. He has been barred from future events organized by Tiburon Strategic Advisors.
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