Debate Rages On as Ken Fisher's Son Defends His Lewd Remarks

News October 18, 2019 at 01:35 PM
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Ken Fisher Ken Fisher, founder and chairman of Fisher Investments (Photo: Jonathan Fickies/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Investment advisor Ken Fisher's lewd comments at a recent event have prompted institutional and other investors to review their relationship with Fisher Investments. This and all the media attention seem to have prompted his son and colleague Nathan to come to his defense on LinkedIn — sparking a lively online debate.

In the post, Nathan excuses his father's behavior by stating that his "brain is wired differently from most people's … and doesn't always interpret social cues in conventional ways."

The younger Fisher also insists that his dad "didn't mean any harm and has learned from what happened." But other disagree. 

As financial services executive Ramsey Smith explained in response on LinkedIn, the fallout from Ken's crude remarks — which in the past also included disparaging attacks on the annuities industry — "has been a case of chickens coming home to roost."

Smith, the head of annuities-focused Alex.fyi, added, "It was just business as usual for Ken Fisher and someone finally spoke up."

That someone was advisor Alex Chalekian, who posted a video on Twitter critiquing the comments. Since last week, some $900 million has been redeemed from Fisher Investments by pension groups. 

Some of Fisher's present and former colleagues, though, say that he and the firm he built deserve support.  

"I never experienced anything like this [untoward behavior while] working with Ken and also with a lot of his associates. I know for sure that this was an accident and everybody who knows him well will agree with me," said George Roth, now CEO of UiPath Connect, a network for automation professionals.

Still, some commenters insist Nathan's arguments in support of his father and the inappropriate remarks fall flat.

"If you are a public figure and make those types of comments, you deserve the push-back," said Carlos Dias Jr., head of Dias Wealth, on LinkedIn. "Ken's disingenuous apology is only to save his firm from losing more clients."

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