Fisher Investment
Facts and Figures: Assets under management (as of 3/31/2024):
$265 billion
Who are Fisher Investment's Clients? Fisher Investments' Private Client Group focuses on high net worth individuals with investable assets of $____,000 or more. We believe this market is underserved—and deserves a better form of money management uniquely suited to their _______-term goals.
$500,000, long-term goals
A Global Investing Thought Leader: Top-Down Investment Approach Pitfalls of Solely Relying on a Bottom-Up Approach: - A bottom-up approach typically relies on picking ____________ securities as the primary driver of investment returns. - Can have several limitations, such as the tendency to over-____________ in a certain category of securities. - If an investor only picks securities they believe will perform best or only specializes in _____ part of the market, it can leave the portfolio narrowly focused. - If other areas of the market perform better, then the concentrated portfolio __________ out. - Investors who only use a bottom-up investing approach often de-emphasize the importance of broader ____________ cycles. - But even the best companies aren't immune to ________________ trends. Even if an investor manages to pick the _______ company within a sector.
- A bottom-up approach typically relies on picking individual securities (stocks, bonds, etc.) as the primary driver of investment returns. - Bottom-up approaches can have several limitations, such as the tendency to over-concentrate in a certain category of securities. - If an investor only picks securities they believe will perform best or only specializes in one part of the market, it can leave the portfolio narrowly focused. - If other areas of the market perform better, then the concentrated portfolio misses out. - Investors who only use a bottom-up investing approach often de-emphasize the importance of broader economic cycles—and rely on scouring thousands of companies in an attempt to pick the "right" ones. - But even the best companies aren't immune to macroeconomic trends. Even if an investor manages to pick the best company within a sector, if the sector overall does poorly, the company may still suffer. - For example, imagine picking the "best" bank in the 2008-2009 global financial crisis!
Personal Wealth Management *How we help you - 3. Annuity Evaluation: $$ - Annuities are often promoted as safe, income-producing products that can assist you in securing a comfortable retirement. (Def: An annuity is a plan where you pay money now and get regular payments later, usually after you retire). -> more (Notes of FI Annuity Eval)
- Annuities are complex and often not in investors' best interests. - They can make reaching long-term goals harder. - Fisher Investments doesn't sell annuities, as other investments usually work better. - Many investors find annuities disappointing or risky. Common Pitfalls of Annuities Common Pitfalls of Annuities: - Layers of Fees: Base contract, administrative, mutual fund, and guaranteed withdrawal benefit fees can reduce returns. - Inflexibility: Hard to access money early; surrender fees can harm long-term goals. - Limited Growth Potential: Protects in downturns but limits upside growth, which can hinder reaching financial goals. How We Can Help: - Fisher Investments has an Annuity Evaluation Program to help investors understand their annuities. - A licensed Annuity Counselor gathers information and analyzes your annuity for fees, penalties, benefits, etc. - You can either gain peace of mind with your annuity or decide to change strategies. The Evaluation Process: 1. Gather Information: Collect details via a call with you and the insurance company. 2. Analyze Facts: Review contract and personal situation in detail. 3. Explain Results: Discuss the features identified in the evaluation. 4. Determine Suitability: Decide if the annuity fits your goals without any obligation to Fisher Investments. 5. Conversion Option: If the annuity isn't suitable, we may assist in converting to a better option.
Who is Fisher Investment? - Fisher Investments is registered with the _______, as an investment adviser. - Fisher Investments provide ________ management to high net worth individuals worldwide - Fisher Investments upholds the industry's highest standard of care, to help investor's reach their ________-term goals through active money __________ definitions: SEC: The SEC, or the U.S. Securities and ______________ Commission, is a government agency that oversees and regulates the ____________ industry, including stock markets and investment ____________, to protect investors and maintain fair and efficient markets.
- Fisher Investments is registered with the SEC, as an investment adviser. - Fisher Investments provide asset management to high net worth individuals worldwide - Fisher Investments upholds the industry's highest standard of care, to help investor's reach their long-term goals through active money management definitions: SEC: The SEC, or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is a government agency that oversees and regulates the securities industry, including stock markets and investment advisers, to protect investors and maintain fair and efficient markets.
What service does Fisher Investment provide? - Fisher Investments provides comprehensive, personalized financial planning services—including budgeting, ________-flow analysis, ________ and tax planning, and strategies for maximizing _________ Security benefits. - Clients benefit from a dedicated Investment Counselor who helps them understand what's going on in their ____________—and why. - Your Investment Counselor stays in touch through up and down markets and can help you access a wealth of exclusive content and informational ____________.
- Fisher Investments provides comprehensive, personalized financial planning services—including budgeting, cash-flow analysis, estate and tax planning, and strategies for maximizing Social Security benefits. *Cash-Flow Analysis: Cash Flow Analysis examines the inflows and outflows of cash in a business or individual's finances over a period. It helps assess cash management, financial health, and performance. Key components are: 1. Operating Activities: Cash from core business operations (sales, revenue, or expenses). 2. Investing Activities: Cash for buying or selling assets (Cash used for investments in assets like property, equipment, or other businesses, and cash received from the sale of such assets). 3. Financing Activities: Cash from loans, stocks, and dividends (Cash flows related to borrowing and repaying loans, issuing stocks, or paying dividends). = Analyzing these helps determine financial health and liquidity. - Clients benefit from a dedicated Investment Counselor who helps them understand what's going on in their accounts—and why. - Your Investment Counselor stays in touch through up and down markets and can help you access a wealth of exclusive content and informational resources.
How we are different: Tailored Portfolios Considerations for a Tailored Portfolio Other money managers may take an age-based approach or have you fill out a basic questionnaire to determine an optimal asset allocation or investment strategy. At Fisher Investments, we take a comprehensive portfolio management approach, entailing a thorough information-gathering process that considers a variety of factors to create tailored portfolios for our clients. Some factors we may consider to create optimal long-term investment strategies for our clients include: -> more
- Investment Objectives - Is long-term growth your primary portfolio goal for your portfolio? Looking for a certain level of cash flow? Some combination? -Your Time Horizon - How long will you need your money to be working toward your objectives? - Cash-Flow Requirements - How should your portfolio be managed to accommodate your cash-flow needs? - Outside Income and Assets - How are your outside assets positioned and how does your managed account fit into your overall net worth? Do you receive cash flow from sources other than your portfolio? - Capital Gains - How can we address the impact of capital gains taxes?* - Restrictions or Customizations - What other personal needs or desires should we consider? - Risk Tolerance - Are you comfortable with our recommendation and is it suited to your stated investment objectives and time horizon for your portfolio?
A Global Investing Thought Leader: Top-Down Investment Approach Why We Prefer a Top-Down Approach to Investing: Part 1 - A top-down approach utilizes broad economic analysis where market ___________ drive tactical decisions. This requires analyzing a wide variety of macroeconomic factors before selecting securities. Our economic forecast drives an asset ______________ decision—the portfolio's mix of stocks, bonds, cash and other securities. *For example, a positive forecast may warrant high exposure to equities whereas a negative forecast may warrant higher exposure to cash. - We then identify areas of the market—countries, sectors and styles—we expect to perform better or worse than other areas, seeking to __________ the strategy appropriately. From there, we can select the individual securities that align with our high-level views.
- Rather than looking for the needle in the haystack, we believe it's better to look for the haystack with the most needles. forecasts, allocation diversify Further explanation: - (Top-down approach) Broad Economic Analysis: We start by looking at the big picture of the economy to make decisions. This means analyzing various factors like economic growth, inflation, and interest rates before choosing specific investments. - (Top-down approach) Asset Allocation Based on Economic Forecast: Depending on our economic forecast, we decide the mix of different types of investments in your portfolio. For example, if we expect the economy to grow, we might invest more in stocks. If we expect a downturn, we might keep more money in cash. -Identifying Promising Areas: We look at different parts of the market, such as countries, industry sectors, and investment styles, to find areas we think will do well. This helps diversify the portfolio, reducing risk. -Security Selection: After identifying the best areas, we then pick specific stocks, bonds, or other investments that fit our broader economic views. This ensures that each investment aligns with our overall strategy. - Positive Economic Forecast: If we expect the economy to grow, we might invest more in stocks because they often perform well during economic expansions. - Negative Economic Forecast: If we expect the economy to shrink, we might hold more cash or safer investments to protect the portfolio.
How FI is Different: 3. Investment Experience (^) 1. Our Client-First Culture 2. A Fiduciary for You 3. Investment Experience: The Investment Policy Committee (IPC) is the dedicated team that makes all strategic investment ___decisions________ for client portfolios. The IPC, which includes Ken Fisher, Jeff Silk, Bill Glaser, Aaron Anderson and Michael Hanson, collectively monitors global economic and ____market_______ conditions to devise and implement the firm's investment strategies with the support of the firm's large _______research_____ group. The IPC has over 150 combined years of industry experience. 4. A Global Investing Thought Leader
- We have a Securities team that assists us in stock selection—all the way on through from creating and looking at stock ideas, to actually monitoring over time and making sure that the reasons that we originally owned a stock remain consistent. - And lastly, we have a Capital Markets Group, which is sort of our macro analysis, and they assist us with fundamental views about how the world works today and help us generate investing themes. - What unifies us is that we have very similar outlooks on the world in a similar investing philosophy. We don't always agree with each other but that's part of the process of the committee is to work out what we think the best step is moving forward and what unifies us is a philosophy about how the world might work.
How FI is Different: 1. Our Client-First Culture 1. Our Client-First Culture: 2. A Fiduciary for You 3. Investment Experience 4. A Global Investing Thought Leader
1. We do things differently from other investment firms—not just to be different, but because it matters for our clients. We designed our entire business to minimize conflicts of interest. - At Fisher, our client service focuses entirely on providing superior service, not additional sales.
Facts and Figures: Fisher investments works with ________ individuals, families, businesses and institutions around the world
150,000
How FI is Different: 2. A Fiduciary for You: 1. Our Client-First Culture 2. A Fiduciary for You: A fiduciary is a person or firm who acts on behalf of _________ and is obligated to put their clients' best interests first at all times. 3. Investment Experience 4. A Global Investing Thought Leader
2. others - Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) provide investment advice and must register with the SEC or state regulators, depending on their managed assets. They are held to a "fiduciary standard," requiring them to act in their clients' best interests. Unlike RIAs, brokers are regulated under different acts and may earn commissions from selling financial products, which can create conflicts of interest. - FI Doesn't Have Custody of Client Assets: We work with third-party custodians to house our clients' assets. This relationship helps provide transparency consistent with our fiduciary duties and instill trust in our asset management relationships. When Fisher Investments first began managing client assets, our founder Ken Fisher knew that having an independent third party who provides regular client reporting was crucial to fostering client relationships. This means that, though Fisher Investments generates its own client reports, your custodian also provides regular reporting for your accounts, so you know what's going on. - *A third-party custodian is an independent company that holds and safeguards your investment assets, such as stocks, bonds, and other securities. They are separate from the investment management firm that makes decisions about your investments. (provides an extra level of oversight and security) -* Independent Reporting: The custodian provides regular, independent reports on your account. This means that you get reports directly from the custodian, in addition to any reports from Fisher Investments. This helps you stay informed and confident about where your money is and how it's doing. -*Regular Reports: You get updates from both Fisher Investments and the custodian, keeping you informed. - We Provide Personalized Advice
A Global Investing Thought Leader: Top-Down Investment Approach Why We Prefer a Top-Down Approach to Investing: Part 2 20%: Sub-asset allocation We narrow down a list of possible assets based on characteristics, such as country, sector and style. We combine historical analysis with forward looking views to determine which categories are likely to outperform. We also develop a counter strategy—having some exposure to areas we don't expect to outperform—to ensure proper diversification. 10%: Security selection: We conduct fundamental analysis to select individual securities that fit our sub-asset allocation decisions. The first two steps provide a framework for which securities to consider.
20% of the Decision: Sector Analysis Once they have a clear picture of the global economy, they narrow their focus to specific industries or sectors (like technology, healthcare, energy, etc.). They analyze these sectors to determine which ones are poised for growth and which might struggle. For example, if they believe that the technology sector will grow faster than others, they might decide to invest more in technology companies. 10% of the Decision: Individual Security Selection Finally, they look at individual companies within the chosen sectors. They analyze each company's financial health, management team, competitive position, and growth prospects. This helps them pick the best companies to invest in within the favored sectors. For example, if they have decided to invest in the technology sector, they might choose leading tech companies like Apple or Microsoft based on their individual strengths.
Personal Wealth Management *How we help you - What We Offer $$ 1. Professional Investment Portfolio Management: You deserve a tailored portfolio, not a cookie-cutter strategy. We take the time to learn about your unique goals and needs. Then we create a personalized investment plan and help you stay disciplined to your strategy through proactive service and educational resources. We believe our active and flexible approach to portfolio management can help our clients meet their long-term objectives. 2. Financial Planning: At Fisher Investments, we can help you prepare for the future with financial planning advice designed specifically for you. We work with you to understand your needs, goals and current financial situation. A good, holistic financial plan provides a roadmap that helps you save, invest and approach tax and estate planning with confidence. -> more
3. Annuity Evaluation: Some companies market annuities as safe, income-generating investments that limit potential losses. The truth is that annuities are often complex and can have significant trade-offs. Our Annuity Evaluation Program helps educate investors about annuities they own or are considering. We can help you determine if an annuity is a good fit for you. If it's not, we can suggest some potential alternatives to meet your financial goals. 4. Tailored Solutions: When planning for retirement, an average retirement strategy is most likely to end with an average result (at best). We believe there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all when it comes to retirement strategies. Our professionals look at your entire financial picture to build customized strategies to fit your needs, retirement goals and investment time horizon.
How we are different: Personalized Service Quarterly Reviews: Each quarter you will receive an extensive Quarterly Review published under the direction of the Investment Policy Committee with contributions from our research staff. The Reviews discuss retrospective performance, global economic and market conditions, our future market outlook and other relevant topics. The goal of this comprehensive report is to help you understand how current economic and political events impact the global stock market. We believe it's a level of education and transparency few money managers provide to their clients. Regular Insights from Ken Fisher: Monthly, Ken shares his insights on markets, the economy and other current events through an exclusive client column and video. You can also find more insights from Ken in his articles published in Real Clear Markets, his videos on YouTube and other publications globally. -> more
Capital Markets Update Videos: Twice a year, we produce a video, hosted by the Investment Policy Committee, that explains our current market outlook. This video expands on many of the themes in our Quarterly Reviews and is a chance for you to hear portfolio decision-makers discuss the market and address many of the frequently asked client questions from the prior period. MarketMinder: MarketMinder is a source of "straight talk" about the financial markets, with the goal of helping investors understand whether market events are bullish or bearish, and why. The articles are updated every business day by Fisher Investments' editorial staff, who scour over 100 periodicals, blogs and other sources to identify relevant financial news. We provide daily commentary on the markets and highlight stories in the financial media we believe deserve investors' attention and those they can ignore.
Fisher Investments was founded in ______
Fisher Investments was founded in 1979
Personal Wealth Management *How we help you - 1. Portfolio Management $$ 1. Portfolio Management Approach: - Investment Style: Active, flexible and global. We tailor your investment portfolio based on our forward-looking market views and capitalize on opportunities around the world, taking into consideration your personal objectives and investment mandates. - Investment Philosophy: Our investment philosophy is the set of financial principles that guide all of our investment decisions, rooted in our belief in capitalism and the power of free markets. - Top-Down Approach: To address the daunting task of selecting from tens of thousands of securities globally, Fisher Investments employs a top-down investment process and leverages a large research team to help make sense of a complex and vast investment landscape. -> more
Five Steps to Building Your Personalized Investment Portfolio: 1. In-Depth Introduction: You tell us about your financial goals and your unique situation. The better we know you, the better we can manage your portfolio. 2. Comprehensive Portfolio Analysis: We perform a thorough evaluation and send a detailed analysis of your current portfolio. 3. Portfolio Investment Recommendation: We discuss our recommendation with you to help ensure you're comfortable with the plan. 4. Strategic Portfolio Implementation: Highly skilled trading and implementation teams put our strategy to work in your accounts. 5. Ongoing Portfolio Management: You and your Investment Counselor regularly discuss your investment portfolio and your ongoing portfolio management needs.
A Global Investing Thought Leader: Top-Down Investment Approach Why We Prefer a Top-Down Approach to Investing: Why This Approach? The 70/20/10 rule helps Fisher Investments manage risk and increase the potential for returns by making decisions based on a combination of broad economic trends, sector performance, and individual company analysis. It allows them to adjust their investments as the economic landscape changes, aiming to stay ahead of market trends.
Further Explanation: An Easy Way to Understand It: Think of it like planning a vacation: 70% - Choosing the Destination: You start by deciding which part of the world you want to visit (Europe, Asia, etc.) based on the weather, political stability, and your budget. 20% - Picking the Country and Region: Once you've chosen a continent, you decide which country and region to visit based on the attractions, safety, and cost. 10% - Selecting Specific Activities and Hotels: Finally, you choose specific activities, restaurants, and hotels based on reviews and your preferences.
Putting It Together: A Top-Down Approach on Two Main Levels: - Think Strategically: Select Assets to Match Your Goals: - Think Tactically: Use Market Forecasts to Adjust Your Asset Selection
If you are an individual investor, how do you apply a top-down strategy? To start, your long-term goals should help shape your investment plan. A well-designed portfolio should be personalized to match your individual financial situation. Since every investor is different, there is no magic formula for the right mix of assets. It depends on your unique set of financial goals, needs and appetite for risk. If you have significant growth needs, your portfolio may want to have greater exposure to assets that have historically provided higher returns with high short-term volatility—like stocks. If you require less portfolio growth and need more cash flow, your portfolio may want more exposure to assets with historically lower returns and lower short-term volatility—like bonds. You should put a lot of thought into what mix of asset classes will most likely get you to your goals. In most cases, this strategic decision should only change when your circumstances or needs materially change. In other words, it should be independent of the current market environment and based on your desired long-term outcomes. At Fisher Investments, we thoroughly review each client's financial situation and goals to recommend an optimal asset allocation designed to achieve success.
Putting It Together: A Top-Down Approach on Two Main Levels: - Think Strategically: Select Assets to Match Your Goals - Think Tactically: Use Market Forecasts to Adjust Your Asset Selection:
Once you have identified the right asset mix to match your goals, you can then make decisions on a tactical level to try to improve your portfolio's performance over time. Your market forecasting will likely drive most of these decisions. Here are a couple of examples: Asset Allocation: If your research leads you to believe a prolonged stock market downturn will likely occur in the near term, you may consider decreasing your exposure to equities. However, this can be dangerous if done too frequently or at the wrong time. Having a third party involved—like an adviser—is often helpful to keep you on track to reach your goals. Sub-Asset Allocation: Based on your views, you may wish to hold fewer securities in areas you think might underperform the overall market and hold more of what you believe might outperform. For example, if you anticipate Energy stocks will outperform, you might choose to hold more Energy companies. However, you may want to avoid holding too many assets in a given sector or particular region of the world, as that can magnify your risk. Portfolio management is complex. Market conditions are always changing and financial media often muddies the picture. Having a trusted adviser—like Fisher Investments—do the research and keep you focused on your long-term financial goals can give you some peace of mind and helpful counsel.
Personal Wealth Management *How we help you - 1. Portfolio Management - How Fisher Investments' High-Touch Service Helps You $$ The private client group is the organization, we built to service our high network clients. The most important feature of our service model: education and counseling. Our goal is help our clients achieve their long-term financial goals and to do that it means staying dedicated to the path we recommend that gives them the highest likely-hood of achieving those goals. An investment counselor is a clients main point of contact with the firm and its the role of the investment counselor to keep the client educated, to keep them comfortable, and also to really understand the client's personal situation in depth- to understand their financial goals, needs, and to make sure that they're comfortable with the approach we take. -> more
Our investment counselor aren't paid commissions, were a typical broker or finical advisor may make compensation based on products they sell or trades they make on their account - our investment counselor don't make money in either of those ways. We don't sell any products and do not make any money off of trading commissions. Clients can contact their investment counselors as often as they wish. We reach out to our clients based on their personal preferences - daily or monthly or etc. The investment counselors don't make any of the portfolio management decisions, that's done centrally by our investment policy committee. Our IPC regularly in touch with the investments counselors through presentations, Q&A's, written communication, to make sure the investment the counselors are fully up to speed with their latest thinking. One of the unique features of the service, is the full range of in-person and online programs our clients have access to. We travel across the country everyday, week, and month- providing educational opportunities for our clients to meet with us in-person.
FI Structure: The Fisher Difference Our Depth of Investment Expertise: Fisher Investments' five-member Investment ________ Committee (IPC) monitors global economic, political and sentiment drivers to forecast market conditions and drive the strategic decisions for client investment portfolios. The IPC has over 150 combined years of industry experience.
Policy
Personal Wealth Management *How we help you - 4. Tailor Solutions: $$ Retirement Strategies Built Around You
Retirement Strategies: - No one-size-fits-all approach. - Tailor your portfolio to your unique goals and financial situation. - Importance of aligning your portfolio with your security and financial wellbeing. Investment Options: - Variety: employer-sponsored accounts, brokerage accounts, mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. - A registered investment adviser can help choose the best options. Fisher Investments' Role: - Help navigate investment options and provide customized strategies. - Understand clients' financial situations and retirement goals. - Offer retirement planning guides and appointments. Creating Your Retirement Strategy: - Establish realistic goals. - Understand your investment time horizon. - Choose an investment strategy to achieve your ideal retirement lifestyle. Personalized Retirement Planning: - Comprehensive assessment of your financial situation. - Personalized portfolio based on goals, timelines, and personal factors. - Discuss and evaluate existing investments like annuities and mutual funds. High-Touch Client Service: - Regular updates on market outlook and portfolio performance. - Dedicated Investment Counselor for ongoing support. - Client seminars, market update videos, articles, and informative videos.
How we are different: Tailored Portfolios There is a number of contributing factors that go into determining a clients portfolio strategy and we take a comprehensive approach that is really tailored to the needs of each individual client. and were looking at a whole host of things whether its what is their investment objectives- or said differently what is there goals for their assets. whats the time horizon for their assets- meaning how long do they need their assets to work for them. What sort of restrictions might they want to place on the portfolio? Do they need to draw income or cash flows from the portfolio? Are there tax consideration? Do they have outside assets that are managed outside of our purview that we should be considering? And what are their risk tolerance? -> more
So this approach differs from the competition in the sense that a lot of managers out there, they'll simply have you fill out a questionnaire, a risk-tolerance matrix, or even take more of an age-based approach in terms of trying to dictate what is the optimal asset allocation for any given client or strategy, but that's not what were doing at Fisher Investments. we are much more comprehensive in nature with a much more rigorous process that not only considers all those factors but many others
Question 3 Summary: ^
Summery: A tiered fee structure means that the fees you pay for Fisher Investments' services are based on the total value of your investment portfolio 1. No Commissions on Trades: Some companies get paid extra whenever they buy or sell stocks or other investments for you, which might make them trade more often than necessary. Fisher Investments avoids this by not earning money from these trades 2. Management Fee Based on Portfolio Size: Instead of earning commissions, Fisher Investments charges a fee based on the size of your investment portfolio. This means the amount you pay them is a percentage of your total investments they manage. For example, if your portfolio grows, their earnings increase because the fee is a percentage of a larger amount. 3. Alignment of Interests: This fee structure is designed to ensure that Fisher Investments is motivated to grow your portfolio. Since their earnings depend on the size of your portfolio, they benefit directly when your investments perform well. This alignment means they are more likely to focus on strategies that will help increase your portfolio's value over time, rather than just making trades to earn commissions.
How we are different: Simple, Straightforward Fee Structure Our fees are very competitive, within the industry. Especially, when looking at other competitive products or services. We have a very transparent fee structure, we bill only on assets and our management, and we are not charging any commissions. Its a straightforward and transparent fee and the simple way it works when a client comes to us with someone principle amount of savings they want us to invest on our behalf all we charge and we are very upfront about it is that simple fee thats based on the amount that they're entrusting with us. That differs from most of our competitors- who often will charge for asset under management, but may also charge for commissions, and may also sell products along the way. -> more
They might set up multiple account types for a client in order to be able to sell or provide different things within those account structures. Whereas, we don't believe the client needs all of that. We keep everything much more transparent and straightforward at Fisher. Our fee structure aligns are interest with clients because the only way the firm does better is when are clients do better.
Personal Wealth Management *How we help you - 2. Financial Planning: $$ We can help you prepare for the future with financial planning advice designed specifically for you. A good financial plan helps you save, invest, and approach tax and estate planning with confidence. In addition to portfolio management tailored to your needs, as clients of Fisher Investments, we can help you take control of your entire financial situation and throughout all stages of life. This includes: 1. Financial Planning 2. Estate Plan Evaluation 3. Tax Planning 4. Social Security and Medicare 5. Insurance Analysis 6. Banking Support 7. Corporate Trustee and DAFS 8. Annuity Evaluation 9. Third Party Referrals
This includes: 1. Financial Planning 2. Estate Plan Evaluation 3. Tax Planning 4. Social Security and Medicare 5. Insurance Analysis 6. Banking Support 7. Corporate Trustee and DAFS 8. Annuity Evaluation 9. Third Party Referrals
How we are different: Understanding Investment Performance Long-Term Performance Means Staying Disciplined: In addition to achieving performance results, an effective investment adviser should also be a trusted coach, who helps you stay disciplined and avoid mistakes you might make on your own. Investing is difficult and can be emotional—especially when market volatility strikes and your nest egg is on the line. -> more
When market performance falls, fear may cause you to exit the market at its lowest point and potentially miss the rebound, which can set you back substantially. When markets are rising, greed or the "fear of missing out" may unintentionally drive you to overconcentrate in outperforming sectors or pursue speculative investments (i.e., "chasing heat"). A financial adviser should help you remember your investment goals and stick to your investment strategy—a key factor in achieving long-term performance results.
How FI is Different: 4. A Global Investing Thought Leader 1. Our Client-First Culture: 2. A Fiduciary for You 3. Investment Experience 4. A Global Investing Thought Leader: Top-Down Investment Approach
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How we are different: Our Fiduciary Obligation A fiduciary is someone who acts on behalf on someone else. As it relates to the investment world, a fiduciary would typically be some who is making investment decisions on behalf of someone else. Not all financial advisors are Fiduciary. Many who call themselves advisors or finical advisors are not Fiduciary and may not be acting in the best interest of their clients. I think to be a Fiduciary in simple terms means to put your clients first. It means to avoid conflict of interest, to think of our clients best interest first and above all else. When Ken Fisher started the firm 40 years ago, it was important to him from day one to build a firm that would always put clients best interest first and to structure it so that legally and ethically were bound to always do what's right for our clients.
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How we are different: Our Fiduciary Obligation Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) must follow the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, requiring them to register with the SEC or the states they operate in, based on their client assets. RIAs are held to a fiduciary standard, meaning they must always act in their clients' best interests. Unlike RIAs, brokers follow the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, focusing on selling or issuing securities. Brokers may provide advice and manage portfolios but often earn commissions on sales, which may not always align with their clients' goals.
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How we are different: Our Fiduciary Obligation What Is a Fiduciary? In the financial services industry, a person or business that assumes a fiduciary duty is obligated to put clients' interests first when making investment decisions for them. This is a differentiating feature of Fisher Investments. Not everyone providing financial advice assumes fiduciary duties or the standards of care and loyalty that accompany that responsibility.
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How we are different: Our Fiduciary Obligation: At Fisher Investments, trust is essential, so we follow the fiduciary standard, always acting in our clients' best interests and disclosing any conflicts. Our fee-only structure means we only earn based on the size of your portfolio, aligning our success with yours, and we don't take commissions from trades. We separate our sales, client service, and portfolio management to minimize conflicts of interest, focusing solely on investment management without selling other financial products. We also use third-party custodians for client assets to ensure transparency and provide personalized advice to help you achieve your long-term financial goals.
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How we are different: Our Investment Approach The Investment Policy Committee: You deserve a stable, dedicated team with decades of experience to help navigate your portfolio toward your long-term investment goals. The Investment Policy Committee (IPC) is the dedicated team that makes all strategic investment decisions for client portfolios. The IPC—Ken Fisher, Jeff Silk, Bill Glaser, Aaron Anderson and Michael Hanson—collectively monitor global economic and market conditions to devise and implement the firm's investment strategies with the support of the firm's large research department. The IPC has worked toward client success for decades. Together, they have over 150 combined years of industry experience.
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How we are different: Our Investment Approach We're transparent about the investing decisions we make for you because we believe an informed investor is more comfortable with their portfolio and more successful in retirement.
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How we are different: Personalized Service Education and Communication: We want our clients to understand what's going on with their portfolios and, more importantly, the reasoning behind our decisions. That's why we regularly keep you updated and informed on the markets, our outlook and what drives our portfolio decisions. In addition to regular calls from your Investment Counselor, you will have access to an array of educational materials to read, watch or listen to
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How we are different: Personalized Service Fisher Investments offers various programs to enhance your client experience and keep you informed about financial markets and your portfolio. These client-only events, held in over 60 cities, include Fisher Forecast Seminars, Investment Roundtables, Fisher Friends events, and more, all at no extra cost. These programs, usually reserved for institutional investors, are available to all clients and provide direct access to senior decision makers and other clients. Additionally, we offer live webinars, video conferences, and forums to ensure you have multiple ways to engage with our team and stay updated on market insights and strategies.
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Who We Serve: 1. Private Investors: We offer personalized wealth management strategies with the ability to devise a tailored plan to help each client meet their long-term investing goals. 2. Institutional Investors: We have a long history of managing assets for some of the world's largest, most-prestigious institutions, including corporations, pensions, endowments, sovereign wealth funds and many others. 3. Small- to Mid-Sized Business Retirement Plans: We offer customized solutions to simplify day-to-day 401(k) management responsibilities for small- to medium-sized businesses, including navigating recordkeeper and CPA relationships, managing retirement plan funds and much more.
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How we are different: Personalized Service Your Investment Counselor: You get proactive service from your Investment Counselor. ->
You'll hear regularly from your Investment Counselor, and you can decide how frequently. Further, your Investment Counselor will reach out to you whenever there are important changes regarding your portfolio. Investment Counselors are not salespeople. Your Investment Counselor is there to keep you informed, not to sell you products. Their job is to regularly evaluate and discuss your investment objectives with you, monitor your accounts and provide day-to-day counseling and service. Their goal is to make sure you know exactly what's going on with your money, and why. Your Investment Counselor is your primary point of contact with Fisher Investments, but you have more than one person working for you. Your Investment Counselor coordinates with a team of investment professionals who are responsible for servicing and managing your portfolio. Your investment team includes members from Research, Trading, Operations and more—all under the guidance of the Investment Policy Committee (IPC).
Our Investment Philosophy: We believe a top-down investment approach—one that selects assets based on higher-level __________ before security selection—is a key factor to our investing success.
analysis Fisher Investments' Investment Philosophy Explained Simply: What We Believe: Top-Down Approach: This means we start by looking at the big picture of the economy and markets before picking specific investments. Think of it like planning a trip: you decide on the country before picking the city and then the hotel. Why It's Important: - Higher-Level Analysis First: We begin by analyzing the overall economic conditions and trends around the world. This helps us understand where the best opportunities might be. - Better Investment Choices: By understanding the big picture first, we can make smarter decisions about which areas to invest in, leading to better overall results. How It Works: 1. Global Economy: We look at how the world economy is doing. 2. Sectors and Industries: We then focus on specific industries or sectors that are likely to do well. 3. Individual Investments: Finally, we choose the best individual investments within those promising sectors. By following this top-down approach, we believe we can achieve better investment success for our clients.
What's FI fee structure? Unlike some money managers, we don't earn ________________ on trades. Instead, we use a ________ fee structure that's based on your portfolio's size. This means we're always focused on clients' best interests, and when clients do better we do better.
commissions, tiered Explanation: - A "tiered fee structure" means that Fisher Investments charges fees based on the size of your investment portfolio (They charge a fee that is a percentage of the total money they manage for you). - A tiered fee structure means that the fees you pay for Fisher Investments' services are based on the total value of your investment portfolio - They charge a management fee based solely on the total value of the assets they manage for you. This is intended to align their interests with yours: if your portfolio grows, they earn more because their fee is a percentage of your portfolio's value. Conversely, if your portfolio value decreases, their earnings decrease as well (Since Fisher Investments earns a percentage of the total value of your investments, they make more money when the value of your investments increases - if you win they win and vise versa). - This fee structure is designed to keep Fisher Investments focused on growing your portfolio rather than generating income through frequent trading or selling specific financial products (Some companies get paid extra whenever they buy or sell stocks or other investments for you, which might make them trade more often than necessary. Fisher Investments avoids this by not earning money from these trades).
How FI is Different: 3. Investment Experience (continues to the next flashcard) 1. Our Client-First Culture 2. A Fiduciary for You 3. Investment Experience: The Investment Policy Committee (IPC) is the dedicated team that makes all strategic investment ___________ for client portfolios. The IPC, which includes Ken Fisher, Jeff Silk, Bill Glaser, Aaron Anderson and Michael Hanson, collectively monitors global economic and ___________ conditions to devise and implement the firm's investment strategies with the support of the firm's large ____________ group. The IPC has over 150 combined years of industry experience. 4. A Global Investing Thought Leader
decisions, market, research - The committee is very unique - relative to the rest of the industry in a variety off ways - one of the things that was so important to Ken when starting the private client group was how can we give our clients access to world class money management but in a competitive way that, in a way that is truly appropriate for our customer. - We have a five member group that is solely focused on portfolios and what's in our client mandates. What we don't focus on is sales, administrative duties, and to some extent service- although we are out speaking to our clients very frequently. Our sole responsibility is the portfolios and we've specialized the rest of the tasks of this business to others. That alone I think is very unique because in most circumstances in this industry most advisors have to do selling, the service, and the trading and strategy- all at once which we simply don't view as optimal. We have an entire research staff that assists us in every facet of the process. - So, we have an entire group which we refer to as our capital markets innovation group, which we refer to as our Capital Markets Innovation Group, which is dedicated to statistical analysis and doing empirical work across the world to help us develop ideas and themes but in a very rigorous way.
Who makes the investment decisions for a client's portfolio at FI? With over 140 years of combined investing experience, our Investment Policy Committee (IPC) makes all strategic investment __________ for our clients' portfolios. The IPC is supported by our large _____________ department, which includes capital markets, macroeconomics, securities and quantitative analysts. As market conditions or needs change, we may adjust your asset allocation to keep your portfolio positioned to help you meet your long-term goals.
decisions, research
FI Structure: The Fisher Difference Our Structure and Values: From our founding in 1979, our firm has been structured to help us put your interests first. Fisher Investments separates sales, client service and portfolio management responsibilities, allowing our employees to build breadth and depth in their areas of expertise. We believe this _________ of labor reduces conflicts of interest and directly benefits our clients by giving them our undivided attention and care at every step of the relationship.
division
Fisher Investments is a ______-only investment adviser serving: [hint - (3)]
fee - private clients, small- to mid-sized businesses, and institutional investors globally.
FI Structure: The Fisher Difference Our Independence: Fisher Investments is one of the world's largest independent, _____-only investment advisers. We're privately held, which means we control our own destiny and aren't beholden to ____________. In our view, our independence enables us to think unconventionally and helps us do what's best for our clients.
fee, shareholders
FI Structure: The Fisher Difference Fisher Investments manages assets across four principal business units: US Private Client, Institutional, Private Client International, and 401(k) Solutions. - Together, these groups serve a diverse global client base including corporations, public and multi-employer pension funds, foundations and endowments, insurance companies, health-care organizations, governments and high net worth families. The Fisher Difference: We believe the combination of our ____________, a structure that always puts our clients' interests first, our investment experience and a "______-_________" investment approach makes us unique in our industry.
independence, top-down
A Global Investing Thought Leader: Top-Down Investment Approach Investors use a variety of approaches to construct and manage portfolios: - Two common approaches to portfolio construction are top-down and bottom-up investing. *Top-down process: places more emphasis on ______________ forecasts *Bottom-up process: places more emphasis on __________ stock _______ Fisher Investments employs: largely top-down process that incorporates broad economic factors into every step—from our overall market forecast down to the individual securities we select—helping to ensure strategic cohesion. Advantages about Top-Down Approach: Limitations to Bottom-Up:
macroeconomic individual, pricing Advantages about Top-Down Approach: 1.) Strategic Cohesion: By understanding the broader economic environment, top-down investors can make more informed decisions about which sectors to focus on. This ensures that the overall investment strategy aligns with macroeconomic trends, potentially leading to better long-term performance. 2.) Risk Management: Focusing on economic trends allows investors to anticipate and mitigate risks associated with economic downturns or sector-specific issues. Limitations to Bottom-up: 1.) Lack of Macro Context: By focusing primarily on individual companies, bottom-up investors may miss larger economic trends that could impact entire sectors or the market as a whole. 2.) Higher Risk: Without considering macroeconomic factors, investors might invest in strong companies that are negatively affected by broader economic downturns or sector-wide issues .
FI Structure: The Fisher Difference Our Top-Down Investment Approach: We believe our time-tested, top-down investment approach is critical to our clients' investing success. Our investment process starts by analyzing global economic, political and sentiment drivers to forecast market conditions and develop investment themes. We believe this approach allows us to identify and take advantage of the best investing _______________.
opportunities
Facts and Figures: How many years has Fisher Investments been serving customers:
over 40 years
A Global Investing Thought Leader: Top-Down Investment Approach Our Top-Down Approach to Investing: 70/20/10 We believe 70% of investment returns are attributable to a portfolio's asset allocation, 20% to _____-asset allocation, and 10% to the selection of ___________ securities. 70%: Asset allocation: We determine a portfolio's mix of stocks, bonds, cash and other assets by first understanding an investor's financial goals and needs. From there we apply macroeconomic analysis to tactically adjust the asset allocation, if necessary, to align with our market forecast. We study economic, political and sentiment drivers to help make this decision. Because asset allocation is a crucial factor contributing to returns, we treat it as the highest-level decision.
sub, individual 70% of the Decision: Economic Analysis Fisher Investments starts by looking at the big picture of the world economy. They study factors like global economic growth, interest rates, inflation, and political events. This helps them understand which countries and regions are likely to perform well and which ones might face challenges. By understanding the overall economic environment, they can decide which areas are worth investing in. 20% of the Decision: Sector Analysis Once they have a clear picture of the global economy, they narrow their focus to specific industries or sectors (like technology, healthcare, energy, etc.). They analyze these sectors to determine which ones are poised for growth and which might struggle. For example, if they believe that the technology sector will grow faster than others, they might decide to invest more in technology companies. 10% of the Decision: Individual Security Selection Finally, they look at individual companies within the chosen sectors. They analyze each company's financial health, management team, competitive position, and growth prospects. This helps them pick the best companies to invest in within the favored sectors. For example, if they have decided to invest in the technology sector, they might choose leading tech companies like Apple or Microsoft based on their individual strengths.
