Who do you trust with your money? A robot or a human? In our Fisher Investments review, we’ll tell you why you may prefer this human-guided investment firm over robo-advisors.
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If you’re uncomfortable managing your own investments, and you’re not keen on the robo-advisor trend, Fisher Investments might be for you. They provide the same comprehensive investment management you get with robo-advisors, but they do it with a human touch. And rather than investing your money in passive assets to merely track the markets, they actively seek to give you a better performance.
About Fisher Investments
Fisher Investments is one of the largest independent wealth management firms in the country. The company began operations in 1979, and as of March 2019 has $107 billion in assets under management. They serve more than 5,000 private clients and over 175 large institutions (also as of March 2019). With offices in California, Texas and Washington, the firm also has two wholly owned subsidiaries in Britain and Germany.
Founder, Executive Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Ken Fisher, is the heart and soul of the firm. His “Portfolio Strategy” column ran in Forbes from 1984 to 2017. He has a personal net worth estimated at $3.6 billion. He has authored 11 books, and has been listed as one of the 30 most influential people in the investment advisory industry over the past 30 years by Investment Advisor magazine.
How Fisher Investments Works?
Fisher investments is a fee-only investment firm. That means you pay a flat fee for investment management, rather than fees based on individual investments or trades. This ensures that Fisher Investments is working first and foremost in your best interests.
In an investment universe increasingly focused on robo-advisors, Fisher Investments is a traditional human-guided investment management service. And unlike robo-advisors, it doesn’t actually take control over your assets. Instead, an account is set up in your name with a third-party custodian, with Fisher Investments having control over the investment activity.
Your investment account is made up of U.S. and international stocks, bonds, cash and exchange traded funds (ETFs). They are part of an investment portfolio, custom-designed for your investment profile and personal goals.
Personal Investment Counselor
The firm handles complete investment management for you, plus, you get a dedicated personal Investment Counselor. This person is a professional investment advisor, who will review your portfolio periodically, and keep you advised on major decisions that will affect it. In this way, Fisher Investments offers a much more hands-on approach than robo-advisors, which typically involve minimal human contact.
One important benefit of your personal Investment Counselor is that he or she is not on commission. You will only be contacted for investment updates and important information. You will never be contacted with a sales call.
Investment Methodology
Fisher Investments starts by determining the right portfolio for you. They consider the following factors in creating the asset mix:
- Your risk tolerance
- Investment objectives
- Investment time horizon
- Cash flow requirements (how much income do you need from your portfolio right now?)
- Other income sources you have
- Tax considerations – minimizing the tax impact of capital gains
- Other assets, not managed by Fisher Investments (like employer sponsored retirement plans)
- Personal preferences or restrictions you may require
Investment management is provided by Fisher Investment’s Investment Policy Committee (IPC). The committee is comprised of five people, some of whom have worked together for more than 30 years. Naturally, Ken Fisher himself, is a member of the IPC.
Fisher Investments has more than 3,000 employees, including a fully staffed research department. This includes teams dedicated to analyzing macroeconomic trends, monitoring every investment sector and major country around the world, evaluating individual securities, calculating performance attribution, and implementing the IPC’s portfolio decisions.
Active Investment Management
This is an important distinguishing factor of Fisher Investments. Robo-advisors invest primarily in index-based ETFs, with the goal of matching the performance of the market. Fisher Investments uses an active investment management strategy. That means your portfolio will be adjusted based on market conditions.
For example, if the outlook for stocks is negative, your stock positions will be reduced in favor of bonds and cash. If a market upturn is expected, stocks will be re-emphasized in your portfolio. The service will also look to exploit foreign markets that might outperform U.S. markets, as well as market shifts between large, mid, and small-capitalization market sectors.
There’s no guarantee Fisher Investments will outperform the general market. But it’s believed that strategic asset reallocations in various market conditions will improve your long-term performance.
Fisher Investments Features and Benefits
In addition to professional portfolio management and regular access to your personal Investment Counselor, you can expect the following when you’re a client of Fisher Investments:
Education and Information
Fisher Investments strives to keep investors in the know. They use the following contact methods to keep you fully up-to-date:
- Comprehensive quarterly reports
- Daily online commentary
- Capital Markets Update videos
- A series of investing books
- Periodic updates from the IPC
Client Programs
Fisher Investments host events in more than 60 cities nationwide, designed exclusively for their clients. The purpose is to give clients unprecedented access to senior decision-makers as well as other clients of the firm. Events include:
- Fisher Forecast Seminars
- Investment Roundtables
- Fisher Friends events
These events are available to you at no extra cost, and there’s no limit to how many you can attend. You’re under no obligation to attend. But, if you want more direct involvement in what’s going on in the investment world, these events are a real opportunity to expand your knowledge base.
Client Education
You may prefer to turn your portfolio over to Fisher Investments and let them handle all the details. But if you’d like to know more about what’s going on you’ll have that option with:
- Quarterly Reviews – Each quarter you’ll receive a report discussing recent market performance and future market outlook, including discussions of historic and emerging trends.
- Capital Markets Update Videos – These are produced twice each year and explain the current investment market outlook.
- MarketMinder.com – This is a website available to the general public. It’s a source of “straight talk” about the financial markets. It’s updated daily and includes analysis and commentary on the current market events.
Fisher Investments Retirement Planning
Fisher Investments uses a holistic approach to retirement planning. That includes meeting with you to learn about your retirement needs and desired lifestyle, then developing a personalized portfolio to help you get there. It also involves regular updates of your financial situation and adjusting the investment strategy as your circumstances change.
Fisher Investments offers a large amount of information on various retirement accounts, including 401(k) and 403(b) programs, and traditional and Roth IRAs.
The 15-Minute Retirement Planner. This is a planner Fisher Investments offers free of charge. It centers on what is perhaps an investor’s biggest concern about retirement: outliving your money. The guide helps you to understand the intricacies of providing for your retirement. It takes into account life expectancy, the income you’ll need, as well as the portfolio necessary to produce that income.
One of the areas of specific concern it deals with is increasing life expectancy. Fisher investments recognizes that most people will likely live longer than they expect. Their investment strategy helps you to prepare for this likely outcome.
The Planner is an excellent introduction to help you to understand and prepare for this possibility.
Other retirement investing guides Fisher Investments offer include:
- The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income
- Retirement GPS
- 13 Retirement Blunders to Avoid
- 401(k) & IRA Tips and Answers
- 99 Retirement Tips
- Premier Retirement Destinations
- When to Retire: A Quick and Easy Planning Guide
Annuity Analysis
Annuities are perhaps the most mysterious investment vehicles of all. In fact, technically speaking they’re not even investments–they’re investment contracts. Your upfront investment is for a future income stream, but doesn’t necessarily remain your property.
The complication is that annuities contain dozens of provisions that are poorly understood by the general public. People are certainly interested in creating a permanent income stream, but they’re not usually aware that they might forfeit a large part of their investment, or that they’ll pay very high fees for the privilege.
For this reason, Fisher Investments offers a wealth of information on annuities. They’ll help you to determine if an annuity you already have, or one you’re planning on buying, is right for you. They also explain the many different types of annuities, and the various provisions they contain.
Fisher Investments Calculators
Fisher Investments provides several investment related calculators to help you determine your investment needs.
401(k) Calculator. This shows you how small changes can have a big impact on your retirement. The number of years left before you retire, your current salary level, the percentage of your salary that you contribute, and your estimated return on investment are all factors. The calculator enables you to determine changes you may need to make to improve the future value of your plan.
Annuity Calculator. Annuities are something of a mystery investment. But they’re becoming increasingly important as a source of stable income, as traditional defined benefit pensions gradually disappear. The annuity calculator will help you to determine the future value of an annuity, and whether or not it makes sense for you.
Future Value Calculator. Calculate the future value of any investment. You enter the present value, anticipated additions, the number of years you’ll be investing, and the anticipated rate of return.
Retirement Calculator. This gives you a simple method to estimate how certain changes can affect your retirement income. In the process, it enables you to come up with different scenarios that’ll help you reach your goals in a world of changing circumstances. It can help you to know if you’re on track, or if you need to make changes, such as your contributions or your investment mix.
The Fisher Investments Mobile App
The Fisher Investments Mobile App is available for U.S. users at the App Store or Google Play. It will provide you with daily commentary, daily news roundups, Fisher Investments social media posts, and access to videos from their YouTube channel.
The app is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices.
Fisher Investments Fees and Pricing
Fisher Investments charges an all-encompassing fee of 1.5% on portfolios up to $500,000. The fee drops on higher account balances, to as low as 1.25%. There are no commissions or hidden fees based on trading within your account.
Fisher Investments Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Comprehensive investment management.
- Personal Investment Counselor, who isn’t on commission, and will contact you with pertinent information, and not random sales calls.
- Active portfolio management that seeks to beat the market, not merely match it.
- Strong emphasis on retirement, which will be a benefit to most investors.
- Flat fee management means no commissions, and no broker incentive to “churn your account” to generate the income.
Cons:
- Fisher Investment’s management fee is much higher than what you will pay for robo-advisors. But they also provide a higher level of service.
Should You Sign Up with Fisher Investments?
Not everyone is comfortable managing their own investments. In fact, that’s probably true of most people. Right now, a lot of people are gravitating toward robo-advisors, largely because they charge much lower fees than human investment advisors.
When you don’t have the time or energy to invest in your portfolio but you have the desire to participate, you should consider a robo-advisor. There are many benefits to using robo-advisors, it’s easy on the wallet, low maintenance and a great way for beginners to make an entrance into the investing world. One of our favorite robo-advisors is Betterment. You can open a Betterment account now with zero dollars and not have to worry about a fee since fees are based on your account balance. Another major robo-advisor is Wealthfront. We put both of these robo giants to the test. Find out which one is best for you in our Betterment vs. Wealthfront match-up.
Related: Our Wealthfront Review
But while low fees matter with investing, they’re hardly the whole story. You will pay more for investment management through Fisher Investments, but it’s an entirely different level of service.
Fisher Investments will provide you with a personal Investment Counselor, who knows your financial situation and goals personally, and will help you to reach them. That level of personal service is not available with robo-advisors.
But perhaps the more compelling reason is active investment management. Robo-advisors use passive investment management. That’s a strategy that involves simply matching the performance of the underlying markets. Active investment management is a strategy that works to outperform the market.
This can be a difficult objective in the type of rising market we’ve had for the last nine years. But it may prove to be a superior strategy when the market reverses. Rather than staying with an initial portfolio allocation, the way robo-advisors do, Fisher Investments will lower your exposure to stocks, and increase your holdings in fixed income and cash assets. This will minimize losses in a declining market.
That’s the kind of investment management that Fisher Investments offers. And it may well produce higher investment returns over the very long term.
Investing in stock markets involves the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.
How to Manage Your Fisher Investments
Track and Analyze your Investments for Free: Managing investments can be a hassle. You may have multiple IRAs, multiple 401ks, as well as taxable accounts. And then there are bank accounts. The easiest way to track and analyze all your investments, regardless of where they are located, is with Personal Capital’s free financial dashboard.
Personal Capital enables you to connect all of your 401(k), 403(b), IRAs, and other investment accounts in one place. Once connected, you can see the performance of all of your investments and evaluate your asset allocation.
With Personal Capital’s Retirement Fee Analyzer you can see just how much your 401k and other investments are costing you. I was shocked to learn that the fees in my 401(k) could cost me over $200,000!
Personal Capital also offers a free Retirement Planner. This tool will show you if you are on track to retire on your terms.
Fisher Investments Review
Pros
- Comprehensive Investment Management
- Personal Investment Counselor
- Active Portfolio Management
- Strong Emphasis on Retirement
- Flat Fee Management, No Commissions
Cons
- Pricey Compared to Robo-Advisors
I am looking at this and an concerned with no disclosure of returns….where can I find this?
At our firm we explain our fees and provide reductions when the account reaches $100k. We are also very open about returns and our clients have been happy with them after 10+ years in the business.
1.25% to 1.5% fee is very high. Definitely on the higher side in the industry.
I am in th process of deciding if I should join them. This helps, but any money manager is going to get at least 1%. So the alternatives are not really there? Arre there?
Lower fees and better performance than Ken fisher and additional planning
Do the math. Over a 10 year period you will lose 234,000 due to fees ($144,000) and lost opportunity costs ($90,000) from the money you paid Fisher Investments based on an initial investment of $500,000 and an Assets Under Management fee of 1.5%. Ken Fisher is worth over $3 billion. Where did he get that money? From you.
Q : Who do you trust with your money? A robot or a human?
A: Neither, as long as the human isn’t me. Pure hyperbole to suggest otherwise…
Take a look at bogleheads.org for some really good info. One thing noted in their blogs is that, say you take 4% of your portfolio each year (pretty std percentage to keep your principal intact and live off the interest/profits). If you pay the investment co 1% (or more!), they are getting 20% of what you remove from your investments each year (while you are living on 80%)! When you look at it that way, you realize what a huge chunk of change they are getting. I can’t imagine that they can do that much better on investing that companies like Vanguard, Fidelity who take just 0.3%. 1% of a $500K fund is $5000. 0.3% of that same $500K is only $1500. Doesn’t take many years to add up to a huge difference.
The only person that should control your investment is you. Your interest in your fiscal well being can’t be beat by any stranger who only seeks to make money off your investments.
Does anyone have experience with Fisher Investments 401(k) Solutions Retirement Plan? I am in discussions with them and it appears performance may be higher than my current Merrill Lynch investments, but I am skeptical.
I was a client. It was during the early months of this bull market. They made money, I didn’t.
I would love to see Fisher Investments performance but cannot find anything posted. Can anyone please send their performance results.
All you have to do is ask. I did. They will provide.
Not to me despite several meetings and requests.
I just tried and somehow it did not make it to my inbox. they do not publish their performance and the rep I spoke to said they use the World Stock Index as their benchmark vs. a weighted bench which would be better since its an allocation model. The world index is much easier to beat than the S&P500.
motley fool tracks ken fishers record which is dismal he underperformed the S+P for the last 10 years with twice the risk and a 1% fee who needs that.its funny my variable annuity with american finds and a 2.5% fee for the guarantees beat him, so much fior the hype.
I would love to see Fisher Investments performance but cannot find anything posted. Can you please send their performance results.
I agree with Philip. First, they are agressive in soliciting your business. I’m not that concerned with their marketing practices. I have the option not to answer the call. The bigger issue was track record. They couldn’t give me any outside, (other than Fisher’s phamplet) review of their performance. I actually liked their philosophy of purchasing “best in class” companies. But, when I asked if they could provide local references, the answer was “their clients do not want to do this because they don’t want anyone knowing they have a larger portfolio.”
For me, without a current confirmed track record, it’s tough to have confidence in the company. As a side note, Fisher’s mutual fund, Purisima (PURIX) was closed back in 2016. That fund had a one star rating from Morningstar. This is probably the best evidence we have of their past performance. High performing funds usually don’t close.
To answer Rob’s question on what ETF or Fund, just compare your equities position NET results against a Total Stock Market fund from Vanguard. You’ll see quickly whether the investment is worth the added expense.
That Purismia fund was originally designed for Fisher clients to go defensive in a bear market, but it was never actively managed because the market has been a bull market for the past 10 years, hence the reason they closed it. Their actual client portfolios are individually managed, which is why there isnt a morning star report that shows their actual performance. If you ever get the chance to actually sit down with them they do in fact present their performance history, although its a grand total return of all the portfolios they manage, with each individual one having different performance since they are all custom built.
Are you a investor with fisher investments
I am about to do business with fisher investments,can any one tell me why I should not.Help please.
I’ve been with Fisher for two years, and couldn’t be happier. Of course it’s been a bull market (mostly), but returns have beaten the averages.
I’m not an expert on Purisima Funds, but they started in 1996 and closed in 2016. They had significant funds under mgmt, but they simply underperformed their benchmarks.
I did sit down with FI and they did show me a phamplet with performance numbers on them. I was looking for an outside review. I see you never answered Jim’s question, “Are you a investor with FI”
I can’t find any independent results comparisons anywhere other than Purisima.
The fee structure means that if you invested $1m in 2018, and lost, say 5% or $50,000, you still paid Fisher $14,000 for that pleasure. I can lose money on my own, without paying for “advice.”
They were extremely aggressive trying to get my business. Do NOT give them your phone number. In the end, there were unable to show me a simple track record – or they just didn’t want to. I’m not impressed!
On $1M portfolio, Fisher fees would be ~ 1.4% ? And what would the avg ETF fund fee be, 0.25% ?
That 1.65% is over 40% of the average balance over 25 yrs. Looks like highway robbery to me !
The question is which ETF do you pick steve bourg.
EFT that tracks the S&P 500
One that tracks the whole market of the S&P 500. VTI or VOO for example
I was with Fisher from 2007-2013. They significantly underperformed the market. And to add insult to injury, they turned the portfolio ( I mean the entire thing ) 3 times in 2012, and left me with a 225K tax bill. On a 3M portfolio. They tell you they tailor your portfolio based on your risk tolerance. That is a complete lie. Every single person is in the same bucket. Ken used to lay claim to being able to time the market. Except they got back in too early i 2002 and missed getting out altogether in 2008. Beware of what they give you for marketing materials. it is junk. The only way you could track their real returns was to look at the publicly traded Purisma fund. Which they finally shut down due to massive underperformance. They are the worst money manager out there. Put your money in the S and P index, you’d be far better off. Also, 1.50 is beyond obscene. When I called and told them I was firing them, they went into my account and took their fee ( prorated) within 2 hours. Run don’t walk from Fisher Investments
Thanks for your information. If you paid such a huge taxes, you should of made capital gain $225KX4. Their rate is 1.0% for one million Dallas. Anyway, I was about to sign up with them and now I have to hold on. Thanks.
Elizabeth Thank you for posting ad I’ve been considering joining them. Where did you go?
Check out powell wealth
Elizabeth Larey,
Thanks for your post here! I read it and I do agree with H. Ford that If you paid that amount in taxes, you should of made capital gains four times the amount you did ($900K in capital gains then?) Can you help me understand that? (and, I also know their rate for one million is 1.0% not 1.5%). the fact that you say to run doesn’t match having made $900K. I’d really love to talk to you if I could.
This is important to me as I am about to sign with Fishers as well.
thanks for any more information you can give!
LK.