Tipping Point: Why Ken Fisher's Lewd Remarks Matter
Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 8:05 pm
Was anyone aware of this when it happened last year? I had not been until I read this article last week. I don't remember reading anything about it in this forum.
My main reaction? The swift repercussions he faced on the basis of one incident and contrasted it to the acceptance of a large portion of the American populace of a president who not infrequently engages in similar behavior.
Vinny
Tipping Point: Why Ken Fisher's Lewd Remarks Matter
https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2019/11/25 ... ing-point/
A typical fireside chat at an event in October quickly turned into a firestorm after billionaire investment advisor Ken Fisher made crude remarks that have sparked a renewed discussion on the treatment of women in financial services.
In the weeks following the incident, industry leaders and many others have spoken out about such bad behavior, some $3.4 billion of Fisher Investment’s $115 billion of assets reportedly have flowed out, and a growing number of organizations are putting codes of conduct in place to prevent such behavior.
Fisher Investments’ founder and chair had made crude remarks before. But this time — on Oct. 8 at the Tiburon CEO Summit — was different.
Early the next day, conference attendee Alex Chalekian reacted to them in a video posted on Twitter, which quickly went viral. He described them as “a true debacle. It was horrible.
Things that were said by Ken Fisher were just absolutely horrifying.”
Chalekian, head of Lake Avenue Financial and RIA Integrated Partners’ practice acquisitions, said Fisher referred to “genitalia, … picking up a … girl, …. Jeffrey Epstein, … and [made] other inappropriate comments at the conference.”
He and others at the event were “disgusted by this, and many of the women expressed to me that this is why they don’t like coming to these conferences. It makes them very uncomfortable. And this obviously doesn’t help the situation.”
In the remarks, Fisher described prospecting for new clients like “going up to a girl in a bar … going up to a woman in a bar and saying, ‘Hey, I want to talk about what’s in your pants,’” according to an audio recording obtained by CNBC.
Advisor Reactions
Poll data collected by Investment Advisor/ThinkAdvisor support Plonner’s conclusion. In addition, the survey results point to a strong consensus on bad behavior in the industry and how to respond to it, though there is less agreement on how widespread the problem is.
• The majority of financial professionals polled believe Fisher’s off-color remarks were sexist/highly inappropriate, garnering 70% of the 1,350-plus responses overall — with 85% of women and 65% of men expressing this view.
• Even stronger is the consensus view over withdrawing assets from Fisher Investments as an appropriate response to his comments: It has the approval of 86% of responses (92% of women’s/83% of men’s).
• When asked if these redemptions send a clear message that his behavior is unacceptable, 88% of those taking the poll (91% women/87% men) say “yes.”
• A strong majority, 84%, view Fisher’s banning from two industry events (where he’s made lewd remarks) as an appropriate response, and 75% would not attend an event with Fisher as a speaker.
• The consensus, though, breaks down over the frequency of behavior displayed by Fisher and others. Most women polled, 61%, say such behavior is common in the industry vs. a minority of men, 30%.
• As for initial reactions to the specific comments made by Fisher, 47% of men were shocked/disgusted vs. 39% of women. Some 38% of women found the remarks unsurprising vs. 26% of men. (Others were either surprised or not shocked/disgusted.)
My main reaction? The swift repercussions he faced on the basis of one incident and contrasted it to the acceptance of a large portion of the American populace of a president who not infrequently engages in similar behavior.
Vinny
Tipping Point: Why Ken Fisher's Lewd Remarks Matter
https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2019/11/25 ... ing-point/
A typical fireside chat at an event in October quickly turned into a firestorm after billionaire investment advisor Ken Fisher made crude remarks that have sparked a renewed discussion on the treatment of women in financial services.
In the weeks following the incident, industry leaders and many others have spoken out about such bad behavior, some $3.4 billion of Fisher Investment’s $115 billion of assets reportedly have flowed out, and a growing number of organizations are putting codes of conduct in place to prevent such behavior.
Fisher Investments’ founder and chair had made crude remarks before. But this time — on Oct. 8 at the Tiburon CEO Summit — was different.
Early the next day, conference attendee Alex Chalekian reacted to them in a video posted on Twitter, which quickly went viral. He described them as “a true debacle. It was horrible.
Things that were said by Ken Fisher were just absolutely horrifying.”
Chalekian, head of Lake Avenue Financial and RIA Integrated Partners’ practice acquisitions, said Fisher referred to “genitalia, … picking up a … girl, …. Jeffrey Epstein, … and [made] other inappropriate comments at the conference.”
He and others at the event were “disgusted by this, and many of the women expressed to me that this is why they don’t like coming to these conferences. It makes them very uncomfortable. And this obviously doesn’t help the situation.”
In the remarks, Fisher described prospecting for new clients like “going up to a girl in a bar … going up to a woman in a bar and saying, ‘Hey, I want to talk about what’s in your pants,’” according to an audio recording obtained by CNBC.
Advisor Reactions
Poll data collected by Investment Advisor/ThinkAdvisor support Plonner’s conclusion. In addition, the survey results point to a strong consensus on bad behavior in the industry and how to respond to it, though there is less agreement on how widespread the problem is.
• The majority of financial professionals polled believe Fisher’s off-color remarks were sexist/highly inappropriate, garnering 70% of the 1,350-plus responses overall — with 85% of women and 65% of men expressing this view.
• Even stronger is the consensus view over withdrawing assets from Fisher Investments as an appropriate response to his comments: It has the approval of 86% of responses (92% of women’s/83% of men’s).
• When asked if these redemptions send a clear message that his behavior is unacceptable, 88% of those taking the poll (91% women/87% men) say “yes.”
• A strong majority, 84%, view Fisher’s banning from two industry events (where he’s made lewd remarks) as an appropriate response, and 75% would not attend an event with Fisher as a speaker.
• The consensus, though, breaks down over the frequency of behavior displayed by Fisher and others. Most women polled, 61%, say such behavior is common in the industry vs. a minority of men, 30%.
• As for initial reactions to the specific comments made by Fisher, 47% of men were shocked/disgusted vs. 39% of women. Some 38% of women found the remarks unsurprising vs. 26% of men. (Others were either surprised or not shocked/disgusted.)
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